By Matt Grager

Short Term Teen Mission Trips - One of the many obstacles in the recovery of Pearlington, Miss. after Hurricane Katrina devastated the community has been money.

Many of the residents simply cannot afford to rebuild permanent housing and therefore have been stuck in their FEMA trailers or temporary cottages for the past three years. People in these situations have been forced to rely on charity and volunteer work for help. Sonny Wilkinson, 75, a Pearlington native, is no different.

This summer, Wilkinson hopes to finish his permanent house, only a block down the road from where his home of 35 years was completely destroyed. The only thing keeping him from completing it is, of course, money.

“I’ve got a little over $20,000 or so put into this thing, and I’ve got about [$10,000] left,” Wilkinson said. “But I’ve got that stowed away to bury me with.”

Wilkinson’s home is a one-story house raised 12 feet in the air on eight-by-eight posts. The frame and roof are complete, and the siding and wiring each halfway finished. Volunteers, including some from Experience Mission, helped him get this far with their labor.

“If this were 10 years ago, before my heart attack, I could have built the whole thing myself,” he said. “But now, I am blessed with the help.

Though he bought the plot of land and the materials himself, he wonders how he will afford the drywall he needs, let alone the $7,000 elevator he needs for himself and his pals to reach the wrap-around porch and front door.

After the storm, local residents were required to fill out applications for FEMA grants of $26,000 to help them rebuild. Wilkinson complied, understanding he would be receiving a grant. While he was filling out that application, he was asked to fill out an application for a Small Business Association loan as well. Again, he complied.

Because of his good credit, he was offered a $190,000 loan from the SBA, with a $900 a month payment. However, Wilkinson, who lives on a fixed income of $1,000 a month, had to turn the loan down.

“FEMA told me because I was offered the loan and refused it, they couldn’t give me my $26,000. Ain’t nobody in their right mind going to loan a 75-year-old man $190,000,” he said. “It just ain’t right.”

FEMA did offer him $11,000 for the destroyed contents of his home. Later on, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency gave him a grant of $23,000 for the first phase of their Katrina relief grant program. A few months later, MEMA asked him to return the money, saying he had never actually qualified for the grant.

“Six months ago they told me I had qualified for the Phase II grant. I told them to take it out of there if they wanted their money back so bad, because I certainly wasn’t going to give it back,” Wilkinson said. “But I found out last week that they were lying to me this whole time and I’m not getting any Phase II money.”

In order to finish his home, which needs only drywall, paint, flooring and his elevator, he needs about 10,000 more dollars.

“If I can’t get my money from the state, I’ll have to spend my burial money and go find a lawyer. I don’t know what else I can do.”

To serve in Pearlington with Experience Mission on a short term teen mission trip or a specific teen mission trip for all ages, call us at 360-732-0986. To check out additional media about Pearlington, visit our news website at www.ExperienceMissionNews.com. Register now for a future youth mission trips with Experience Mission.