HopeFest Final Recap

"It's just been incredible,” Rockets CEO George Postolos said. “The community has been overwhelming and we're so proud to be the Houston Rockets right now because of the way Houston has responded to the incredible needs of the evacuees.”

The event began on Tuesday, September 6, with an all-day donation distribution that ran from 7 a.m-9 p.m. Rockets staff members withstood the treacherous heat of the day to help unload a myriad of goods that ranged from clothes and toys to food and strollers. Houstonians came by one by one to donate anything they could offer. There were trucks that arrived filled to capacity, using forklifts to lift boxes and boxes of clothing and food supplies. Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy and his players, alongside Comets coach Van Chancellor and his team, assisted in the distribution, greeting the people of Houston and letting them know their effort was greatly appreciated.

“It's a great thing,” Rockets guard Bob Sura said. “I’m glad the Rockets were able to put it together in such a short period of time. They've been able to help out a lot of people here.”

On Wednesday, evacuees were able to participate in the Rockets’ agency assistance program. Families were able to obtain school information for their kids, get help with job resumes, receive information on housing, and much more. The Houston Area Urban League recorded the names of 800 people who needed housing. Administaff took resumes and provided job information to 150 people. Evacuees were also able to pick up goods that had been donated the day before. Children got to take home toys of their choice, and parents picked up a variety of necessities such as clothing, toiletries, suitcases, and food supplies. Rockets players Bob Sura, Jon Barry, Mike James, and David Wesley sat and chatted with families while signing autographs. Tracy McGrady helped during the late afternoon to help unload and distribute goods to evacuees. On Thursday, the same services were available for the families who were unable to come on Wednesday. Overall, it was a great event for evacuees, who appreciated how the city of Houston and HopeFest lent their aid during this great time of need.

"Everybody has been wonderful,” said Courtney, an evacuee from New Orleans east. “It really exceeded any expectations I could've had. People have been so generous, it's so wonderful."

While HopeFest was itself a period of high spirits and genuine care and support, it still did not completely detract from the fact that despair and loss was still evident through the victims of a tragedy which has been estimated to become the costliest natural disaster in United States history. While the estimate of casualties has been said to be beyond the thousands, the survivors are barely able to maintain any sort of comfortable living. More than two million survivors have been left without electricity, and countless others are still without food or water. It is just a haunting reminder that, despite the great success and efforts of HopeFest, more can still be done. Courtney went on to tell rockets.com a detailed account of her situation as an evacuee of Katrina:

"The hurricane was fine. Katrina brought wind yet we didn’t flood, but then the levee broke and that’s when we noticed that the water kept rising. When we woke up the next morning, there were about six inches of water in the house and we decided to get out of the house. The people on the radio kept telling us that the water would keep rising and that we shouldn’t wait for it to stop. So we got up on the roof, and we waited as helicopters were flying over us all day, but we didn’t know that they weren’t doing search and rescue. They were just assessing the situation. So after about eight hours on the roof, a gentleman came around on a boat, seeing if people needed to get out of their houses. So he got us out of the house, brought us to a church where they fed us and we were able to sleep for the night. But the next day, water was still rising. So we had to evacuate the church and they put us on a tour bus that didn’t have a motor so we were being pulled by a tractor. The whole thing is just so surreal. They brought us to a checkpoint, and then the next day they piled us in the back of a U-Haul truck and brought us to the (New Orleans) convention center, where we spent two nights. Then a helicopter lifted us out, brought us to an airport and put us on a flight to San Antonio, and from San Antonio, we came here.”

When hearing accounts such as Courtney’s, it’s hard to focus on the positive aspects of such a desperate situation. According to USA Today, across the states, the general first estimate of cost to insurers sits at $16 billion. The cost would be second only to the $20.9 billion insurance costs in 1992's Andrew. However, while the bad and ugly have already been exposed enough, what’s done is done. Measures have been made to get things back in the right direction, and Houston HopeFest played a significant role in getting families’ assistance and welcoming them to the city of Houston.

“I think this is something great, “ Rockets assistant coach Patrick Ewing said. “Houston and the nation as a whole have come together and helped the refugees. We've given them hope and given them something to look forward to."