USD Magazine Summer 2009

governments after a natural disaster. However, there’s a sizable gap between the allocation and implementation of those resources as they navigate through at least three (local, state and federal) differ- ent bureaucracies. “Programs that are supposed to be very simple can languish for years going through all the red tape,” she says. “We’re only just now implementing projects from the 2005 storms because of how slowly the process works. That can be incredibly frustrating, but we find ways to be creative and do everything we can with what we have.” In addition to helping residents recover from the damage of past storms, Gerbasi works to help insulate communities in the region from future disasters. That’s no easy task when considering the geography of southern Louisiana and how particularly susceptible it is to devastation. “If you don’t live here, it seems like common sense to say, ‘Don’t build on the flood plain,’” she says. “But the topography is very dif- ferent here. You go from sea level to an elevation of maybe 15 feet and that’s all. It’s completely flat and it’s mostly bayous and canals. If you see a light in the distance here, it’s probably a bridge.” Compounding the problem is the fact that the parish’s booming economy — consisting largely of crabbing, fishing, oyster farming, shipbuilding and off-shore drilling — necessitates that the popula- tion live in close proximity to the water. “In reality, you can’t move out of the flood plain,” Gerbasi says. “We have one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the nation with a huge housing demand; only eight percent of the region is on buildable land.” Instead, Gerbasi is helping to design and implement new building and zoning regulations in order to allow communities to mitigate the risks of living in an area vulnerable to natural disasters. And in a region where erosion absorbs “a football field a day” of coastland into the Gulf of Mexico, building up natural safeguards — including erecting barrier islands and planting trees — is an essential part of her work. But those measures will take years to implement. In the meantime, yet another hurricane season approaches. “Realistically, it’s going to take decades,” Gerbasi says. “Until then, we have to figure out how to pull people above the water and build better within the existing landscape.” The work can be heartrending. She routinely works with citizens whose homes have been in disrepair for years while waiting on long-delayed government assistance. And while she relishes the opportunity to help alleviate that immediate suffering, her real focus is on making sweeping changes that will impact the region for decades to come. “It’s a wonderful feeling when you’re able to help people,” Gerbasi says. “At the same time, my focus is more on long-term issues. When you can get an ordinance or a piece of legislation past the city council or the state legislature (that) makes a broad change in the community value or a shift in consciousness in order to build toward a better future, that’s very gratifying.”

C

“

ome hell or high water” is a phrase typically

cast about with casual bravado. But for Reines and

Gerbasi it might as well be a job description. Their

work is predicated on bringing hope and comfort

to people and places wracked with devastation and

despair. Needless to say, it’s not labor for the meek.

“It can be very emotional, especially for the individuals who’ve been directly impacted,” Gerbasi says. “You certainly want to be attentive to that, but you also have to stay focused on the bigger picture in order to do your job efficiently and effectively.” Bearing witness to widespread pain and suffering simply comes with the territory — but so does the ability to do some- thing about it. And while Reines and Gerbasi have no grand illusions or naiveté about trying to save the world, both are emboldened by the fact that what they do affords them rare opportunities to make a real difference. “I don’t think everyone can be saved just by giving them a tarp and a bucket,” Reines says. “But I believe in what I’m doing. I feel privileged to have a job I love where I can work with fan- tastic people and be a part of what’s happening in the world. You just have to shine your little light wherever it makes sense and, for me, this is what makes sense.”