Katrina survivor tells of better life in Wichita

With much of the news from New Orleans still bleak, it is nice to hear of survivors making a better life for themselves — especially in Wichita. Louisiana native Melissa Gordy recently wrote to USA Today telling of how she found opportunity in Wichita after Katrina struck: “There, in the downtown area, we found the Red Cross, which helped us to buy clothes and food and to get registered for any additional help we could qualify for. The Salvation Army also provided help with food, donated furniture and vouchers for various furniture stores. Within two weeks, I had purchased a great home and had the kids enrolled in a fantastic school. I later got a job that pays twice as much as the one I lost to the hurricane.” Wichita emergency services deserve a great deal of credit for making stories such as this one happen. Let’s hope that the rebuilding of New Orleans will eventually allow all those who stayed a better life, too.
Posted by Melissa Cooley

3 Comments

  1. Joe Williams
    Posted July 2, 2006 at 9:39 am | Permalink

    Cool story.

  2. Ben Huie
    Posted July 2, 2006 at 4:12 pm | Permalink

    I read that in a copy of USAToday I picked up on the road travelling last week – a truly heartwarming story; both about the writer and about Wichita.

  3. Right Angle
    Posted July 9, 2006 at 2:00 am | Permalink

    When she reads in the Wichita Eagle that Kansas is the laughing stock of America she will run back to Louisiana.