Family takes in 14 Rita evacuees
Published: September 29, 2005
This family has been through so much.
“I can’t even think right now,” Cameron Parish, La., evacuee Yvonne Thibodeaux said.
Fourteen of them, escaped Hurricane Rita’s wrath from Cameron Parish.
“The fear of not knowing what their homes look like is a big burden to bear,” Pam Hebert said. Hebert owns the home where all 14 of the family are staying.
And Tuesday morning they got more bad news.
“She was always so scared of bad weather. Wind and lightning and all that,” Thibodeaux said.
Yvonne Thibodeaux’s sister-in-law died from a heart attack. Yvonne believes the stress from Rita killed her.
“Because everybody’s safety is what everyone is concerned about. We’ll figure out the homes when we figure them out. But, to hear that one of them didn’t make it, just added on top of everything else they are going through right now,” Hebert said.
For some the road to safety was a road traveled twice. It was a journey that began in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina.
“The looters, people robbing people. So, we just got in the car, went to Creole and the family took us in with open arms,” New Orleans evacuee John Lorek said.
Lorek never thought he and his wife would have to evacuate all over again.
“You know, it’s just a freak of nature, going to Creole where you think you’re going to recover from Katrina and all of a sudden, that just gets wiped out,” Lorek said. “I don’t even know if we’re going to go back to New Orleans. My family here, my friends want me to stay in Austin, Round Rock, but I fell in love with Louisiana,” Lorek said.
Now, the family is starting over.
“We have to. We just all got to stick together,” Lake Charles, La., evacuee Cindy Hebert said.
Even though, right now, no one is sure where to start.
“You give a shoulder to cry on and listen and do everything to help,” Pam Hebert said.
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