Patti Kurtz: Katrina Time

In the summer of 2007, I participated in a then-pilot-program with AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps called “Summer of Service” in New Orleans. Modeled after the *NCCC program, Summer of Service allowed us to serve as leaders for groups of students age fourteen to sixteen to complete a three-week service program. We lived at Xavier University with the participants and followed many of the norms in our program: uniforms (with shirts tucked in!), physical training, team building, and community service projects were required of all the students.

Throughout the program, communicating with them was a challenge. They were at the age of rebellion and didn’t like listening to authority figures. This was the first experience for many of them in a job-like environment. And community service isn’t always “fun.” Imagine telling a group of teenagers that they were going to walk through vacant land and pick up trash for four hours straight. It wasn’t a glorious job, but someone had to do it.

One day we went to an area school to plant new trees and flowers at the entrance of the building. About an hour into the task, we were hit with torrential downpour and had to head inside to wait out the storm. So, I did what I had to do, and I made up a game to keep them entertained!

The game was called “Categories” (not original, I know). We sat in a circle and each person took a turn choosing a category. Then everyone else gave an answer that fell within that category. We started off easy, with categories such as “favorite music” or “favorite subject in school.” Then, one girl in the group said “worst day in your life” as a category.

As each person went around the circle and took their turn, they shared an experience they had had during the time of the hurricanes, known to them as “Katrina time.” They told the group about walking their grandma through the floodwaters to get to safety or about staying in their house as they hoped and waited for the storm to pass. Every single one of them had a story to share about Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that they remembered as the worst day in their lives.

Then something beautiful happened. The next person in the circle chose the category “best day in your life.” This time, when each student responded, almost every single one of them shared a story about the same era, “Katrina time.” They told stories about making new friends in a new city when they had to relocate, about what they felt the day they returned to New Orleans, and about what it was like to see their family and friends for the first time after being separated from them for months.

I was blown away by their honesty and ability to talk so openly about what we know as one of the greatest tragedies to happen to a U.S. community. To them, it wasn’t political, it was personal. It was a part of who they were and identified an entire chapter of their life.

Even though the three weeks with those students may have been the most difficult project for me in my year in AmeriCorps*NCCC, it was an experience that reminded me why I was in AmeriCorps, what we could do to help, and how the community was greatly affected by the storms.