Group to return to Louisiana

In February, volunteers built one house and repaired one.
AUSTINTOWN -- A group that has been helping families get their lives back from the devastating effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita is making another trip to Jean Lafitte, La.
Mission of Love, led by its founder, Kathleen Price of Austintown, is headed back to the Gulf Coast town beginning Friday.
A truckload of construction materials will leave Friday ahead of the group, which will make the trip Sunday, Price said. Eleven volunteers are going this time, and the group plans to build two more houses for families who lost everything in the storms.
During a February trip, volunteers built a house for a family and repaired another. Price said one of the new houses will be for a woman and her four children. The woman lost her home after a 30-foot wave hit it, and her husband was killed, Price said. She said the woman sat in a tree for four days.
The other home will be built for a man who used to make his living as a shrimper. He lost his home and his boat, she said. Price said they are now staying in tents.
Quotable
"This is duplicated throughout the whole Gulf Coast," she said.
Price said it's important not to forget that the people hard-hit by the storms are still suffering. "We still have to recognize the need. These are people who have no insurance coverage and no jobs," she added.
Price said donations of supplies or cash are always appreciated, and people who would like to help out on another trip to Jean Lafitte are encouraged to volunteer. The group will return in July. Call Price at (330) 793-2388.