TANGIPAHOA, La. (AP) — A.J. Beckendorf sleeps in comfort most nights, as long as the temperatures don’t drop too low. Since his trailer was split in half during Hurricane Zeta at the end of October, Beckendorf relies on insulation foam, tarps and lumber to keep out as much of the cold as he can.
As a 68-year-old handicapped veteran who served all over the world in the Army, Beckendorf says the damage to his Pumpkin Center home doesn’t bother him much — except for when it’s cold.
“If it gets in the low 30s, my heaters can’t produce enough heat to keep it warm, but it’s livable,” Beckendorf said. “All my life I can adapt to what I’ve had, so it’s no big deal.”
Zeta made landfall near New Orleans Oct. 28 as Beckendorf relaxed on his couch with his dog, Kyre. Wind and rain swirled around the home outside when a red oak limb, 2 feet in diameter, tore loose and fell about 30 feet into the home. The limb fell through the ceiling above Beckendorf, splitting the trailer in two and coming to rest “about 6 or 7 inches in front of me.”
“When it fell, I didn’t jump or nothing, but my dog did,” Beckendorf said. “Right off the bat, I said ‘I’ve got to put some tarp on it.’
“I tried battling the wind and the rain for two-and-a-half hours and couldn’t do it.”
While Beckendorf is unperturbed about the damage to the 30-year-old home, his family and members of the American Legion’s Hammond chapter are working to raise money to buy him a new mobile home.
Beckendorf is retired and said Social Security checks are his main source of income, leaving him unable to afford a $3,000 mobile home parked nearby that’s for sale. On top of the cost of the mobile home, the cost to move it into place and replace the damaged home could run up to $2,000 more.
But fundraising has been slow going as the region, like much of the country, deals with the economic effects of restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus, said Cindy Newton, post adjutant for American Legion Post 5.
“It is very hard right now with the virus because I used to be able to visit my organizations and businesses I usually work with, but I can’t do that now,” Newton said. “To explain to a person over the phone what we’re looking at, it’s not the same as walking in there.”
Tangipahoa Parish residents were not among those eligible for individual assistance because of Hurricane Zeta damage, making Beckendorf unable to apply for relief money through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Tangipahoa Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management only received a couple reports of uninsured damage from the storm and the dollar threshold for the parish to be eligible for individual relief is in the hundreds of thousands, said office Director Dawson Primes.
“There was never a request from the parish for individual assistance because all indications we received is there wasn’t enough widespread damage,” said Mike Steele, communications director for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs has been in contact with Beckendorf to aid with his recovery, a spokeswoman for the department said.
Newton said she sent out roughly 30 letters to local organizations and businesses seeking donations for Beckendorf and raised $700 from six donors. Beckendorf’s sister, Theresa Moffitt, raised just over $2,000 for her brother through a fundraising website.
With several weeks of winter left and a low of 33 degrees forecast for Tuesday night, reaching the fundraising goal is urgent for Moffitt and Newton.
“Before this limb came through I could have dealt with the trailer, but the limb made it impossible,” Beckendorf said. “I’m not looking for even close to a new trailer, I just want something so I can get by.”
This article was written by PAUL COBLER, The Advocate from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].
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