A team of five ARC/GNY AmeriCorps volunteers -- Shawn Pelsinger, Shawn Connell, Gaelyn Georgia, Kristen Misek and Ellie Yanchar --arrived in New Orleans in April to support the ongoing reconstruction and help prepare the area for the upcoming hurricane season that begins on June 1. The following is a journal of their experience.

For those who don't know, AmeriCorps is a national organization that provides nonprofit organizations with people who are trained in education, the environment, public safety and homeland security. Shawn C., Gaelyn, Kristen and Ellie and I, Shawn P., are AmeriCorps volunteers working with ARC/GNY to survey shelter sites, produce medical kits for Red Cross shelters, assess warehouse supplies and do whatever else is needed to support the people of the Crescent City.

It's been three days since our arrival on April 23rd in New Orleans and already we've been busily preparing for the upcoming hurricane season.

On Monday morning, the AmeriCorps NPRC members of the Southeast Louisiana Red Cross Chapter greeted us at Louis Armstrong International Airport. They gave us a tour of the area surrounding our hotel, took us to lunch, and brought us to their new chapter building (the old building sustained severe flood damage during Katrina).

Our first project was to visit one of the state's largest FEMA trailer facilities, a park that houses roughly 500 trailers ranging from single occupancy facilities to those large enough to house families of seven. We met with trailer residents to promote an upcoming FEMA and Red Cross sponsored information session/block party at the park's local field. This event will detail potential recovery plans and include food, music, and prizes for attendees.

After spending the day visiting each of the 500 trailers, we drove down Bell Chase Highway through some of the most devastated areas of the Gulf Coast. Uprooted trees and overturned boats were neatly collected and organized, but remained on the roadside as a constant reminder of the seemingly endless recovery.

Remnants of destroyed homes lined the road, sporadically interrupted by an occasional surviving building. Most surviving structures featured spray painted pleas that read "Do Not Bulldoze, Rebuilding in Progress.” The most dramatic messages were those that simply stated a building’s address in large letters. These were usually written on houses that had been picked up and moved to a new location.

We spent today in a warehouse in La Place organizing medical supplies for nursing kits to be used in shelters. We gathered everything from glucometers to infant formula, all of which would eventually be packaged and used in shelters throughout Louisiana.