St. Stephens Youth Group recently returned from our third trip to the gulf coast, and our second trip to the house of Mrs. Dorris, a woman who lives in the seventh ward of New Orleans. Several weeks ago Mrs. Dorris received a letter informing her that she would lose the FEMA trailer where she currently lives on July 1st. Thankfully she was able to get a 90 day extension on this removal, and our youth group made it our goal to move Mrs. Dorris into her house by the time we left New Orleans. It was a goal destined to go unfulfilled. There was so much left to be done, that even with the hard work of the entire youth group, every one of whom I am personally proud of and grateful to, we could not finish the house in the time we had.

As it stands, 4 general goals remain to be accomplished before Mrs. Dorris can move in to her house.

First, the mudding and sanding process which we started after drywalling must be finished, and the house must be painted.

Second, Appropriate flooring and, in some cases, sub-flooring must be installed in her house.

Third, basic appliances and furniture, such as a stove, a refrigerator and a washer and dryer, must be purchased/donated and installed.

Fourth, the doors and windows must be perfectly installed.

The youth group is currently working on several options for solving these problems, including fundraising to pay for labor and materials, contacting youth and student groups in the new orleans area to provide some of the necessary labor or potentially even returning to New Orleans for a smaller mission trip sometime in august.

There are only three churches in the country that have a commitment to the seventh ward, one is in Boston, one is in Florida and one is St. Stephens. All three churches are going to work to make sure that Mrs. Dorris is back in her house in 90 days. If anyone would like to help in any way or be a part of the planning process, they should contact Michael Harrington at St. Stephens Episcopal in Seattle. This is not limited to members of our congregation or denomination.

The youth group will be holding meetings in the evening Monday-Thursday, and any one who wants to help is welcome.

Ben Snyder