The ups and downs of Vicksburg

This post comes a little overdue, as I have finally had a few minutes to sit down and reflect on the past couple of weeks.

While in Vicksburg, Mississippi, we learned what it takes to be part of the Disaster Survivor Assistance team. It is made up largely of “reservists”, or people like us who get deployed only after a declared disaster (and who may do somewhat unrelated jobs while not deployed.)

We received laptops, iPads and Blackberry phones so that we may be in constant communication. We learned how to register survivors with FEMA; this means that after a disaster, we go door-to-door to make people aware that they can potentially receive money from the government for damages and losses. Although I do not hope for a disaster, I do hope I can use this training at some point this year. It has been very interesting to learn how the government decides who/when/why to giv

e money to survivors.

Vicksburg is a quiet little town on the Mississippi River. The couple of times that we went downtown, I saw few people that were not AmeriCorps members. We even went to Jackson, the capital, and discovered a practically abandoned downtown area. Campus was large with old buildings and dorms, but modern amenities like a pool, gym and soccer fields. It was fun to meet AmeriCorps members from the Southern region, but most of us were ready to move on after a week in Mississippi.