We made another trip to our old rental property in New Orleans this past weekend. It has had power restored. Most of the standing water was gone. We filled our car with what salvageable possessions we could and brought them back to Lafayete. We've secured a new rental property there and will be moving in over the next week or so. We're planning to make another trip there next weekend to box up the remaining possessions that can be salvaged and transport them to Lafayette in a U-Haul. We're exhausted and still have a lot of things left to do, but we're making progress.
On the morning of Saturday August 28, 2021, we evacuated from our rental home of three and a half years in New Orleans due to Hurricane Ida.
In the two days prior, Ida had strengthened from a tropical storm to a major hurricane, with a wide potential cone of locations to make landfall. We had little time to make decisions or plans, gather what supplies and possessions we could, and make arrangements to flee the city with a safe place to stay.
Uncertain of which direction the storm might go, we thought the safest option was to go north to stay with a friend in Mississippi while the storm passed. Then, on the morning of Tuesday August 31, we traveled to Lafayette to stay with family while we figure out next steps.
The timeline for restoration of public services in the city is indeterminate and estimated to be somewhere in the range of four to six weeks.
Our rental home took on enough water that it would require major repairs to be livable.
Finding another rental in the same area would be difficult at best and impossible at worst right now.
In short, circumstances are forcing us to find another place to live and orchestrate a move there.
My job is entirely remote, so our income isn't dependent on us remaining in New Orleans.
We have family in Lafayette willing and able to offer support while we get back on our feet.
Our kids are homeschooling online. As long as they have internet access, their educations won't suffer long-term disruption from this.
We're investigating rental properties in the Lafayette area. We've found a realtor recommended by a friend of a family member who's helping us in our search.
We went to New Orleans on Saturday September 4 to retrieve what salvageable possessions we could fit into our vehice and brought them back to Lafayette.
Once we've secured a new place to live and have enough storage space for the rest of our possessions, we'll make another trip to New Orleans with a U-Haul to transport them.
Some friends have already reached out to offer help, which we appreciate immensely.
If you'd like to help us out, here are some ways you can do so.
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We need leads for a new place to live. Names or contact information for realtors or real estate agents, property management companies, apartment complexes, independent landlords, or whatever other useful related knowledge you might have would be great. We're looking for a pet-friendly property to rent for 6-24 months in Lafayette or the surrounding cities, ideally with 3-4 bedrooms and 1.5-2.5 bathrooms, and in the neighborhood of 1,700 square feet and $1,700 in monthly rent.
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We need to secure the residence and move into it. We didn't expect that we'd have to evacuate or rehome our family due to this storm and aren't in a good financial position to do so. If you'd like to donate funds, you can do so using Venmo (@BeeTurland), Cashapp ($BeeTurland), or PayPal (honeyluxnola@gmail.com). Any donations will go toward rental application fees, security and pet deposits, first month's rent, moving expenses such as vehice rental fees and fuel required for trips between New Orleans and Lafayette to retrieve our possessions, replacing any essential possessions destroyed by flooding and perishables spoiled due to loss of power, etc. If you have any spare furniture or appliances that you think we may be able to use, please let us know.
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We need anyone willing to provide physical help or moral support with salvage and moving. Friends who are local to New Orleans, willing to travel there, or living between Lafayette and New Orleans who are willing to ride there with us are welcome. Entering the property for the first time since the storm will be emotionally difficult. We'll be assessing damage, moving some unsalvageable possessions to the street for trash pickup, and packing anything we can save into our vehicle to transport back to Lafayette. Help with any of these would be much appreciated.
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We need support during this transition. We appreciate messages, texts, calls, or any means to reach out and get in touch with us. Check-ins, words of encouragement, and any information that might help us in our efforts would be wonderful. If you're local to Lafayette or New Orleans and want to contribute food in either location while we're there, that would help immensely.
If you'd like to donate to help other New Orleanians who are in more dire straits than we are, here are a few organizations that we believe would benefit from your generosity.
- Feed the Second Line helps local musicians who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and recent storms.
- House of Tulip helps local transgender and gender-nonconforming people find housing.
- World Central Kitchen is helping to provide meals to local community members in need.
- Another Gulf is Possible is a grassroots collaborative led by women of color that seeks to achieve sustainability, equity and justice through culture, the arts, advocacy, transformative justice, and education.