Monday started with buckets and buckets of water dumping from the sky. I went on a 3 hour grocery trip, came back changed and hurried up to Pawtucket to work at the visitors center.
The work was different from what we thought it would be and a bit mundane, but necessary. We redecorated and hung more pictures up in the Blackstone Valley tourism office and we organized the pamphlet closet. We finished early and had lunch in the van silently staring out the window at the rain waiting to head to the Pawtucket Soup kitchen. Once we got there work and the overall mood quickly picked up.
I was struggling this particular night with the close proximity of the team and living quarters so I enjoyed some quiet time in the hallway listening to the rain pound the sky light. As the night went on I was able to enjoy the company of others.
Tuesday morning came with grey sky’s and lots more rain. We showed up bright and early at the highway department to fill sandbags for people to pick up and for delivery. By lunch time Rhode Island had gone into a state-wide disaster due to all the flooding and road closers. In the afternoon I had the opportunity to go out on deliveries with Tony and Marco and actually see the impact we were attempting on making in the community. We were out in the pouring rain dragging 50 pound sand bags off the truck and around peoples homes trying to stop the water from running into their basements and first floors. It was shocking to see how terrible the water levels had gotten. One house we delivered at had basically a pond in their backyard and no basement so the water was flooding into their first floor. Another elderly couple lost power and had about five inches of water in their basement. We tramped down there in the dark and placed sand bags around the doors to stop the water from coming in the basement.
Shortly after the work day ended Christian and I were called on disaster relief and had to prepare to head to Cranston to take over for Jamie and Chris at 11 p.m. We spent the entire night at an Emergency center answering phone calls for people who needed help. Unfortunately it was a bit disappointing because it was slow, everyone was asleep. About an hour before our shift ended we began to receive dozens of calls. It was heartbreaking listening to all the flood and sewage damage to people’s homes but I am glad I could be there to try to help and make a difference.
Overall it was a great night so bring on the disaster relief, I’m ready!!!
