Annual Report & News

Larkin therapist travels to the front lines

of Hurricane Katrina relief in the Gulf

Helping grief-stricken hurricane victims was nothing like the semi-routine office days Alan Owens spends as a therapist for the Larkin Center in Elgin.

A volunteer disaster relief worker for the American Red Cross, Owens took two weeks off from his job as a supervisor at the center to help the devastated victims of Hurricane Katrina Sept. 2-16. His tour of duty involved a grueling regiment of 14 straight days averaging 17 hours each day providing crisis counseling and other duties.

"When you volunteer for the Red Cross, they usually give you one day off a week," said Owens. "But this case was so much different. Many of the people lost their homes and some lost family members. Many had headed back to take a look at their homes after evacuating and then returned to the shelter. Some went back to do some work, but there weren't a lot of options for people who rented."

Owens is no stranger to relief work. He counseled 9/11 victims in New York City, those in the Lincoln Park porch collapse tragedy and other local disasters. But nothing could prepare him for the widespread devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,000 people and wiped out entire towns along the Gulf.

After flying into Montgomery Alabama and processing himself at a makeshift Red Cross disaster headquarters set up at an abandoned K-Mart Store, Owens drove to several Alabama shelters. He spent the bulk of his time in the Panhandle at the Central Baptist Church in Crestview, Florida. Once he arrived, he was immediately thrust into action with other disaster relief workers from across the country doing mass meal preparation, food distribution, family service record reporting, relief funds distribution, supply coordination, and emergency shelter administration.

"The outpouring from the Crestview community was unbelievable," said Owens. "Truckloads of things came in everyday. Nearby families stepped forward and took people into their homes."

Each evacuee possessed his own story of courage and survival and every volunteer Owens met had an equally compelling story of dedication and sacrifice, he said.

"The scores of volunteers who put their lives on hold to assist others model compassion and commitment," he said. "Yet, perhaps more compelling is the strength of character of those effected - the actions of the evacuees, demonstrating a will to overcome, to survive and to transcend the tragedy.

"Some say when you volunteer, you leave a piece of yourself everywhere you go. I believe Red Cross volunteers provide a unique opportunity that is much more reciprocal."