[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by Mule

I'd like to see if you are this God damned cocky if your family lost every possession they had in the world.

I damn sure wouldn't still be sitting on my God damned A$$ 2 years later whining that the Government hasn't fixed everything for me yet!!! I'm sorry, my father taught my to rely on my self, and most of those affected were already unable to take care of themselves. I mean, we are talking TWO YEARS later and they are still not made any progress??? Hell, with all the rebuilding needed, one would learn the building trade
I have ridden that coaster, and when down, reevaluate and do what ever it takes (not waiting for someone to do it for me) to get back ahead!! Most in the 9th ward didn't have to much to lose, so it really should be too hard other than family pictures. The reson there are so many people down there still doing nothing is people like you, enable them by making exuses for them and taking more tax payers $$$ and give it to them

Here is someone who did it,

This Katrina evacuee is flourishing




By KAREN BRUNE MATHIS, The Times-Union


This time, Katrina evacuee Kendal McCoy was wearing a Hickey Freeman sport coat, estimated retail value $125, that he picked up for $5, including his employee discount.
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The tie and shoes came from a Goodwill of North Florida retail store, too.

"If I have to come and professionally present myself, what better way than to represent my own company?" he asks.

McCoy, you see, works for Goodwill as an employment specialist. He teaches people, some of them down on their luck, how to find and keep jobs.

The job services are free and are paid for by sales of goods donated to Goodwill. McCoy figures, why pay retail when he can support his employer?

"I'm glad to have Jacksonville as an opportunity to focus on my career strengths, and to be aware of people in the same situation," he said last week as he prepared to lead a workshop.

Here's that situation. McCoy, 33, landed in Jacksonville two years ago after leaving his native New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He had his car and little else.

He bunked with a friend and immediately set out to find work, making a Goodwill store his first stop for clothes.

It was also his last job stop. He picked up a designer suit for $15 and a position at Goodwill's Job Junction. The first time I met him, he was wearing that suit, retail value $300.

Now, just two years after holding down three part-time jobs in New Orleans, he's making daily, full-time use of his bachelor's degree in social work.

McCoy and two co-workers assist an estimated 125 regular and new walk-in clients a day at the downtown Job Junction. They include former addicts, ex-offenders and the homeless. Any displaced worker is welcome.

"He relates exceptionally well. It's his professional approach, yet they can tell he cares, that he has a feel for them," says Goodwill President Bob Thayer. "He gives the straight scoop."

Retailer Peggy Johnson, who teaches public speaking to teenage felons at the Duval County jail, says McCoy is one of her regular speakers. "The kids love him," she says. "They can identify with someone who has overcome an obstacle."

Plus, he offers to help them find a job when they're released. Last year, the downtown office placed 1,489 of its 2,001 clients, a 74 percent rate, higher than all eight offices collectively.

McCoy says his mother always told him he'd have to leave tourism-dominated New Orleans to use his degree. And he likes Jacksonville. "I enjoy the atmosphere of the growth of the city. I can grow with the city and not stay here by default."

He's still considering further education, too.

McCoy's family, which fled to Nashville in the storm, has returned and rebuilt. He visited a few times but isn't ready to say when he might return. "I can't say I'm ready to go back."

McCoy has settled in Jacksonville. He moved to an Arlington apartment, 10 minutes from the office. He furnished his place with Goodwill purchases, too,

"I get off work and go home and enjoy the opportunity to be safe and employed," he says. He wants to stay with Goodwill "as long as they want me."

After work Wednesday, McCoy intends to observe the second anniversary of Katrina. He will return to his apartment, review a book about the storm, read articles, look at photos, call his family and friends and pray.

"It's like a birthday," he says. "A re-birthday."

karen.mathis@jacksonville.com,
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