Published: September 06, 2008 01:00 am            

Enid Salvation Army crews help assist Gustav evacuees in Louisiana

Although Hurricane Gustav only hit New Orleans with a glancing blow, the fact remains it did cause damage and many people were displaced in a mandatory evacuation.

Enid’s Salvation Army sent crews down to Louisiana to help care for evacuees.

“We’ve been here since the night before the storm hit,” said Maj. Johnny Poff, Enid Salvation Army commanding officer during a phone call from Shreveport, La. “The Enid crew left out in time on Sunday morning.”

A Salvation Army crew of nine people is spending its time serving meals to approximately 1,700 evacuees at a shelter. At three meals a day, the crew is serving between 5,000 and 6,000 meals each day.

“We pushing pretty hard,” Poff said.

The crew consists of four members from Enid and others from Ardmore and Shreveport.

While there is no damage from the storm in Shreveport, caring for the evacuees is a big job.

“We’re dealing entirely with evacuees,” Poff said. “Our group agreed to start where the biggest immediate need was at the time. We are their only source of food.”

Once the evacuees begin to leave, the crew will meet up with other crews in a part of Mississippi, where the damage is greater and there is no power or running water.

“I have not seen the damage firsthand,” Poff said. “But the wind damage (in these types of storms) is not nearly as bad as the water damage.”

In the meantime, Poff and crew are serving much-needed food and trying to keep spirits up.

“These people have been removed from their homes for the second time in three years,” Poff said. “They are living here in an enclosed environment, there’s no place for them to go. The different groups here are doing lots of wonderful things for the children.”

And a recent delivery made the crews and the evacuees, thanks to a generous donation.

“For the first time in my life, I got a view of what $3,000 worth of Krispy Kreme doughnuts looks like,” Poff said.

Once again, the folks from Oklahoma and those from Louisiana are creating a bond of camaraderie.

“My friends here at Shreveport have assured me ... and I know they’ll do it, that as soon as we get a tornado or something, they’ll head our way,” Poff said. “It kind of makes you happy to be in America.”