A Look At Her Pass, A Glimpse At Her Future
Voluntary Agency Liaison Profile: Kim Akridge
Release Date: April 19, 2007
Release Number: 1604-539
» More Information on Mississippi Hurricane Katrina
BILOXI, Miss. -- Standing in front of her mother's nearly complete three-bedroom, two-bathroom home, Kim Akridge is satisfied. She notes the new house is a little smaller than her parents' last home but this time, her mom will get a porch. Akridge is grateful her mother, "a feisty 83 year old retired science teacher," is able to rebuild at all, since their Pass Christian neighborhood was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Akridge grew up a self-described "Air Force brat" in a family of seven, including a twin brother, in Pass Christian. After graduating from Mississippi State University (MSU), her job moved her to various locations including Washington D.C., Atlanta and Houston. Akridge was only home for two months when news of the hurricane threatened the Gulf Coast. "I'd already gone through Camille. I was not going to stay," said Akridge.
She left three days before the storm hit the Coast and went to Virginia Beach. Her mother, youngest sister and other family members remained behind in a community called DeLisle, a few miles north of Pass Christian. Although her family survived the storm unharmed, they, like their neighbors, lost everything.
"Material things don't mean a lot to me anymore; those things can be washed away in a second, in a heartbeat," said Akridge. "What I really feel for is my mother. She lost so many photos - when she was a child, her and my dad's 50th anniversary. My mom and dad's house can be rebuilt but photos are irreplaceable."
In Oct. 2005, Akridge relocated to Jackson, Miss. and began working as a Voluntary Agency Liaison (VAL) for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She had a long history of volunteer service and felt the job would be a good fit. While attending MSU, Akridge worked at the campus children's development center, volunteered at a nursing home, and mentored elementary and junior high school students. She formed a book club for neighborhood children ages 2 through 12 in Washington D.C. and in Mississippi. When Akridge returned to the Gulf Coast in Jan. 2006, she was relieved to be home again but even more determined to help her hometown recover, starting with her mother.
When Akridge's parents survived Hurricane Camille in 1969, her father purchased flood insurance despite being told the family's home was not in a flood-zone. After her father died in 1999, her mother kept the flood insurance. "The flood insurance helped her purchase materials needed to rebuild her home," said Akridge.
The list of volunteers who have contributed to rebuilding her mom's home reads like an agency roll call. "There was Square Foot Ministries from Ga. and N.C., United Methodist Church from Lawrenceville, Ga., Belot Baptist Church from Wis., Samaritan's Purse International Relief from N.C., college students on spring break from Albuquerque, N.M., upstate New York and the University of Virginia, all in separate groups too. And Randy Ranger from Jackson, Miss., the Mennonites helped demolish my mom's home; people from several churches in Kalamazoo, Michigan came down on a bus for a week and did the electrical wiring for the home."
Akridge is grateful to each and every one of them. She currently works with the East Biloxi Coordination Relief and Redevelopment Center as well as Pass Road to the Future, an organization formed to help Pass Christian residents. She wants people to know about the many volunteer agencies available to help in their recovery.
"I have been working in Long Term Recovery and with FEMA for almost a year now. The help that Kim has provided has been priceless," said Katherine "KT" Thigpen, case manager supervisor for the Rebuilding Pearl River County Together long term recovery committee. "She responds quickly to my faxes requesting information about my clients (usually in 24 hours or less) and has been very helpful in making appeals. Thanks to her assistance, we have made several appeals which resulted in a change in the initial decisions. She's also provided much needed help for some of my elderly and disabled clients. She has helped me become more knowledgeable about the FEMA process enabling me to be a better case manager."
Recently, Akridge drove through her hometown and was proud to see evidence of healing - about fifty brand new homes. She credits volunteers with building homes on properties where people "probably couldn't afford to build a home before." Akridge remains proud of the people on the Gulf Coast, especially Pass Christian, in light of the tragedy they faced at the hands of Katrina. She believes the compassion people showed one another allowed Mississippi to shine in a different light to the rest of the country.
As for her mother's new home, Akridge expects it to be complete by late April.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Friday, 20-Apr-2007 09:16:18