Vanessa's Garage

By Mary J Harrington

Houses, schools, and whole neighborhoods were destroyed when Hurricane Katrina came to New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2005. The levies that had been built to hold back the water were not up to the task. People had to leave the city for their safety. Thousands took shelter in public places. Some people died. And then it was time to clean up. So many had lost so much!

One group that came to help was led by Reverend Mary Harrington, the minister of a UU congregation in Massachusetts. She named the group “Long Haul” to show the volunteers’ commitment. Here is a story she told:

Hurricane Matthew rips through palm trees in Haiti

For our second trip, we volunteered for Project HOPE in St. Bernard Parish, which was completely flooded, often to 10 or 12 feet. Project HOPE’s large, hand-painted sign was the first thing I saw. Yellow with red lettering, it read, “Project HOPE: Helping Other People with Everything.” My heart did a little back flip and I thought, “That’s what I want to do, too.”

Long Haul encourages volunteers to reach out with interest and kindness to everyone: rental car employees, school security guards, checkers at the supermarket, tollbooth money takers, children on the playground. “Everyone” is why we are there, and helping with “everything” is what we are willing to do. In St. Bernard’s, many of the residents we met were exhausted, discouraged, or even in despair. Listening to people’s stories can be healing. Just showing up can restore a little of their faith in humanity. Which brings me to Vanessa’s garage.

A school counselor, Vanessa confided to us that her house was still a mess and she was still living in a FEMA trailer. Besides her own situation, the weight of so many serious problems brought to her by the children, parents, and staff at her school caused her to feel overwhelmed. She just didn’t know where to start. She was stuck.

Work on Vanessa’s house had started, but her garage full of damaged items was driving her crazy. It needed to be cleaned out. The Long Haul volunteers who went to take a look thought the project might be too small to bother with. Maybe an hour’s worth of work.

Small it might be, we reassured the volunteers, but it’s what she asked for. So back they went the next day, contractor-size trash bags in hand. When Vanessa came home that afternoon, she went wild. She couldn’t believe we’d done all that work. Her garage had never been so clean! After she said thank you about a dozen times, she said, “Do y’all mow lawns? Because I really need to get my grass cut.”

And that last question brought me such joy, because it said that Vanessa had gotten unstuck. She was moving on. That little tiny project, exactly what she knew she needed most, got done. After three and a half years she could check it off the list and go right on to the next thing. She could even ask for help with that next thing.

No one really knows what someone else needs unless you ask and then listen carefully. Once you find out, it’s crucial to respond as precisely as possible. Good-fitting help can put a smile on someone’s face, light up their eyes, even bring a shriek of pure delight.

You may think I am describing the response of the person who got helped, and I am. But good-fitting help puts a smile on my face, too. And I’ve seen it light up the eyes of scores of volunteers. Good-fitting help makes your heart sing.

Adapted with permission of Rev. Sam Teitel, son of the author, from “Vanessa’s Garage” in UU World, Spring 2009 by Rev. Mary J. Harrington (1952-2010).