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Jail Becomes Home for Red Cross Volunteers
Written by
Maryann Sinkler
, Special to RedCross.org
Friday, September 16, 2005 — Kenner, LA. – Red Cross relief work supervisor Jeff Chinn is a long way from his family, but he’s finding all the comforts of home in a Kenner jail cell.
Chinn and about 50 other Red Cross volunteers are working hand-in-hand with a Southern Baptist feeding operation in the parking lot of the Kenner Police Department. They work all day and sleep securely by night on the cement floors of the jail.
Daily, the two organizations team up to make and distribute about 5,000 lunches and dinners for local people who have stayed in their homes but have no electricity or running water. Another 2,000 meals are taken via Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) to people who can’t come down to the station, including the military personnel who are providing protection in the area.
At the end of the day, Chinn, his crews and the Baptists are tired and hungry, and that’s when the families of the Kenner Police Department employees kick into action.
“Your people feed everybody all day long and we feed you at night,” said Police Chief Nick Congemi, as he looked across the expanse of food for the grateful disaster relief workers.
Shortly before Hurricane Katrina hit, Congemi and his squad did something they had never done before -- they let all of the prisoners go. Congemi knew that the people he was holding -- guilty of misdemeanors with a maximum 60-day hold -- had families to take care of.
“They were very appreciative,” he said. He also hopes they evacuated and won’t be back.
Shortly after the storm hit, looting and criminal activity began in nearby areas and then in Kenner. With the old prisoners gone and the town in a chaotic, hazardous state, the jailhouse was a safe place to stay.
Congemi takes great pride in the town he protects - a place he has lived all his life. He is now also well-loved by the Red Cross workers who have become his friends. A gentle and humble man, he sees nothing extraordinary about his generosity. He gives credit to the Red Cross:
“You guys really got your pipeline flowing,” he said of the strong and efficient system the Red Cross volunteers, including Chinn, have created.
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