Lucas Jordan came to New York in August for a simple vacation, but he found himself stranded in a North Bergen hotel room, with no place to go and knowing no one.
After a tumultuous time when the New Orleans native saw the town where he was born and raised washed away by the horrors of Hurricane Katria, Jordan never thought he’d be able to find himself a home here. But, thanks to the kindness of a host of local people, he has.
“I appreciate the people who came out to help me, even if it was just $10 to get something to eat,” said the 29-year-old Jordan, who has been able to find an apartment in Jersey City thanks to the work done by people who heard of Jordan’s plight and wanted to help out. “The people who stuck by me, who reached out to help, they’re the ones I’m very thankful for. I don’t know what I would have done.”
Press stories inspire people to help out Hudson County residents – and even some from New York – learned of Jordan’s situation through the media and newspaper articles, like the one published in The Hudson Reporter Newspapers chain on Sept. 11. It told how Jordan came to New York to see the sights and perhaps pursue some opportunities in the clothing industry, when Katrina struck, washing away Jordan’s home in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward and forcing his family members to scatter throughout the country.
“Some people came and paid my hotel bill (at the Howard Johnson’s on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen) and I still don’t know who they were,” Jordan said. “Others slipped envelopes with money under the door and I don’t know who did that. I was really grateful.”
Stephanie Cummings, who was born and raised in Jersey City and now resides in Bayonne, saw Jordan’s story on Channel 7 Eyewitness News.
“I was watching with my Mom and a few of my sisters from the Eastern Star Azure 215 [in Jersey City] and we just felt so sorry for him,” Cummings said. “So we decided to help. We wanted to help. We had to do something.”
So Cummings went to work to try to find Jordan a place to live. Through her connections with friends Bobby and Diane Morgan, who serve as members on the board of the Jersey City Housing Authority, they were able to secure Jordan an apartment on Bergen Avenue.
“Carol Tyler, the manager of the building, made sure that Lucas had a place to live,” Cummings said. “Then some of my Eastern Star Azure chapter sisters got together and got him some furniture and some sheets and bedding.”
A teacher from West New York, who is only identified as Kerry and having two sisters Sheila and Erin, found a catering facility that would donate food to Jordan. North Bergen resident Derek Carpenter and his wife helped Jordan with transportation and provided some emergency funds.
Frances Brown, a resident of New York, heard about Jordan’s problems from a friend, Angela Davie, who read about Lucas in the Newark Star-Ledger.
“Angela asked me if I could help,” Brown said. “I came across to meet Lucas and found out that he was a young man with a bright future. I just wanted to do something.”
So Brown and a friend, Rev. Clemson Brown, decided to lend a helping hand to a man in need.
“We were just trying to be a friend to him,” Clemson Brown said. “We wanted him to understand that he had family here, and we tried to be like family.”
The Browns of New York also collected furniture to give to Jordan so he could furnish his new place.
“They’re really the ones who wanted to help,” said Jordan, who worked in telephone and computer wiring in New Orleans while dabbling in the clothing industry before Katrina hit. “Whether the help was small or great, they were there. Stephanie didn’t quit. She kept going and going until she found me a place to live. It’s been two months now and those friends are still around.”
Taking stock After getting settled into his new digs, Jordan decided to venture home, to see if he could catch up with his scattered family. His mother and grandfather relocated to Columbus, Ga. His sister is in another part of Louisiana, called LaPlace.
“Some of my relatives, I don’t even know where they are,” Jordan said. “They were all from New Orleans, but they’re in Texas, Arkansas, Houston, San Antonio.”
After visiting with his mother in Georgia, Jordan then made his way back to New Orleans to witness the devastation first-hand and to see if there was anything he could salvage from his old home.
“Once you get there, you get the feeling like you were walking into a disaster area,” said Jordan, who stayed there for 10 days. “You can feel it in the atmosphere that something’s wrong, like something’s dead. When you get into the city, it’s like an episode of The Twilight Zone. Just imagine New Jersey, a busy place like this, being empty. A whole populated place with nothing. There’s nobody there. You walk through the streets of the old neighborhood and there are boats up on the sidewalk. It’s actually surreal. You never would have been able to visualize something like this. I saw whole houses gone, houses that you knew since you were a kid. It was amazing.”
Jordan said that he was floored by the devastation.
“There’s no form of life where there once was,” Jordan said. “It’s rare to run into a single person. Maybe there’s life on Bourbon Street and Canal Street, but in the neighborhoods, there’s absolutely nothing. I got real emotional seeing it.”
Jordan returned to his home to find the water damage to be more than extensive. He was able to salvage some of his artwork and drawings that he mastered when he was a youngster.
But he also realized another thing during his journey back home. He couldn’t stay there.
“There’s nothing there,” Jordan said. “How could I stay? There’s no water yet. They’re just getting around to putting electricity in. It’s going to be an extremely long time before anyone can live there. So, I’ll basically stay here. I like it here. I’m going to try to see if I can make it here. What I like here the most is all the different races that are here. It’s like a real gumbo.”
Jordan said that he is very angry with the lack of help from the federal government. He has yet to receive a dime in federal relocation money. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not contacted him yet.
“It’s upsetting to me,” Jordan said. “They gave my mother $2,000, and she was living in a hotel room with my grandfather and the family. That got me kind of depressed. Now, she had to find an apartment that she has to pay rent in Georgia, but she still has to pay the mortgage on the house in New Orleans. I have my hands tied behind my back and I don’t know how to help. I haven’t received a penny from FEMA. Everything I’ve received comes from the help of the private sector. I wonder where all that money is going. They give you $2,000 then tell you to fend for yourself.”
Some misunderstandings Jordan has also learned about life the hard way.
“Some people said that they were going to help me and didn’t,” Jordan said. “Some were looking for money if they gave me a ride. I didn’t understand that.”
A church in Newark, called the Metropolitan Baptist Church, was featured in the Newark Star-Ledger article, stating that they were raising money for Jordan. Frances Brown spoke to the organizer, Rev. Mark Johnson, who allegedly told her that they raised $20,000 strictly for Lucas.
“When I met with Rev. Johnson, he said they collected $20,000 for Lucas,” Brown said. “But Lucas hasn’t received that money.”
When contacted, Johnson said that there must have been a miscommunication between him and Frances Brown. “I respect Ms. Brown and I would never say or do anything to offend her, but that’s a lot of money for one person,” Johnson said. “I told her that we were prepared to collect funds for all Katrina victims and we did that. I did not specifically collect for Lucas Jordan. We have about 56 families from New Orleans that have relocated here. Our arms are still open to Lucas. We want to help him out, but we’re also helping the 56 others who have been displaced. We don’t want him to think we don’t care. I wouldn’t say that Ms. Brown was misinformed. I just think she was under the impression that we collected solely for him.”
Johnson said that he had lost contact with Jordan since he moved. The Reverend was given Jordan’s new address and telephone number and vowed to give some sort of contribution.
‘Like I belong here’ But there was the goodness of many local residents who opened their hearts and souls to help a lost soul, one who has now become a resident of Hudson County as well.
“We normally deal with helping seniors and children, but in a case like this, we had to help Lucas,” Cummings said. “It feels good, and I think my sisters from the Eastern Star feel good that we were able to help someone. We all did a little something.”
Jordan doesn’t know what the future holds. He would like to find a job locally, maybe sell clothing or some of his artwork. Maybe he can pursue a lifelong dream in rap music, although it’s not known if there’s a market for Cajun rap in New Jersey. He also wants to return to the south to be with his family for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“I’m going to be right here for now, in my new home,” Jordan said. “People have made me feel like I belong here.”
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.