Evacuee Finds Colleagues at Job Fair
In New Orleans, LA, Belinda Pugh taught Goodwill clients the importance
of a resume and a good cover letter -- but she probably never
anticipated needing those skills until she became a storm evacuee
herself. The former employee of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern
Louisiana (New Orleans) is now working at the North Louisiana Goodwill
Industries Rehabilitation Center, Inc. (Shreveport), -- along with one
of her former colleagues -- placing storm evacuees into employment.
Despite all she’s been through, Pugh said she believes the good has
outweighed the bad. [Goodwill] gave me back my dignity," she said.
"Piece by piece, I’m getting it back."
At Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana (New Orleans), Belinda
Pugh worked as a fine work facilitator, talking to clients about the
importance of resumes and writing a good cover letter. If it weren’t
for the Shreveport Goodwill, Pugh may have needed to use the very
skills she taught after becoming a storm evacuee herself
On August 26 -- the day before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf
Coast -- Pugh evacuated from the city and wound up in shelter in
Hattiesburg, MS. The experience, she said, was "horrible," with only
junk food to eat and no power to keep people comfortable.
She decided to travel with a group to Shreveport, arriving there August
28. By happenstance, she decided to go to the job fair sponsored by the
Shreveport Goodwill, the City and the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce.
It was there that she spotted the Goodwill’s staff.
"I had never been so glad to see somebody," Pugh said September 15. "I
was in the middle of the convention center about to cry. [The Goodwill
staff] softened the blow."
Romney Firor, the Goodwill’s Vice President of Workforce Development,
hired Pugh on the spot and put her to work placing storm evacuees in
jobs at the Social Services Center at Hirsch Coliseum. The Goodwill has
also helped connect Pugh with housing and assisted her in getting her
paycheck from the New Orleans Goodwill.
Currently living in the Hirsch Coliseum, Pugh said she is intent on
finding her family. Her daughter is in Houston with friends, but she
still doesn’t know where her brother or two nieces she was raising are.
The experience has changed her, given her a sense of humility and has especially modified how she feels about Goodwill.
"It was a company that gave me a job," she said. "But, now, it’s a family. They’ve treated me like a family, with open arms."
With the Shreveport Goodwill having hired 10-12 clients from the
Gulfport and New Orleans agencies, Margaret Plunkett, Vice President of
Human Resources at the Shreveport Goodwill, said the staff will need to
make some accommodations for the new staff members.
"They will have issues come up," Plunkett said. "Maybe emotional, maybe financial, but I’m thinking mainly emotional."
Shreveport Goodwill CEO John Rankin agreed, saying there will be a lot
of grief that will need to processed and that the staff will need to be
supportive of.
"We need to be supportive of one another," he said. "We need to carry each other when it’s needed."
Pugh said she wants to do that in her own way by helping match storm
evacuees’ skills with jobs and assessing their skills and abilities for
employment.
"It’s really overwhelming being in the same situation as everyone,"
Pugh said. "Now, I’m able to pull others out of the water. [Goodwill]
gave me back my dignity."
"Piece by piece, I’m getting it back."
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