Family Matters Most
By Nicol Jenkins
March 10, 2007

Source: Boca Raton News

Years after Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans causing death and destruction and forcing thousands to flee, some Boca residents are still living with the effects.
Some former New Orleans residents fled to Boca Raton and have chose to stay. Others came for a while but decided to return to the place they once called home.
One family has been divided geographically. Sondra Guidry decided to make Boca her permanent home. Guidry and her 9-year-old daughter Melina now live in an apartment in Boca Raton. Her 19 year-old son Jamie moved back to New Orleans to help his grandma rebuild her home.
“Everything still isn’t the way it was [in New Orleans],” said Guidry.

There’s not a day that goes by that Guidry doesn’t remember the storm that changed her life. “I lost everything,” Guidry said. “The house was a mess. Water came in and it smelled so bad.” She added that the city wasn’t recognizable. “You’d see huge billboards bent in half and a house a block down from where it was before. Every house I saw had damage.” However, one sentimental family piece wasn’t destroyed- an antique car her son inherited from his uncle.

“We couldn’t find a place for it so we took my vehicle and blocked it,” she said. “My vehicle was trashed and the other one was saved.” The vehicle now sits in a body shop.

Guidry said she has settled into her new life. When she was living in Marrero, Louisiana, her work was remodeling and design. Now she cleans local houses and has become the personal assistant to Boca resident Charlotte Danciu and her family, who took in Jamie for a few months while she was in a hotel. Guidry said the family has continued to support her.
“Her kids are my kids and they are like brothers and sisters to me. They’re family,” she said.

Jamie said he’ll also never forget that fateful day but in some ways it’s changed his life for the better. “You have a whole new outlook. It’s like what you see in the movies when you go to a new place,” said Jamie, who attended Boca Raton High School. “I’ve met a lot of friends.”

Jamie said he would visit his mother and sister regularly. “Part of me wants them to stay because it may be better for my sister to grow up there.” Despite liking Boca life, Jamie said he couldn’t be far from his home for too long. “New Orleans is kind of a hard place to replace. I’ve lived there for 18 years,” he said. “It was my time to come back.” That home is back to normal for Jamie. He recently celebrated Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street with many others.

“Everything is fine. There are some smaller areas that aren’t rebuild but other than that if you didn’t live here you wouldn’t know,” he said. Whether its in New Orleans or Boca Raton, the Guidry family has grown accustomed to a new life. “My little girl has friends here and the Danciu family is family to me,” said Guidry.

“It’s like night and day. New Orleans has the music, culture, jazz, and is really historical. But I find that living in Boca is really relaxing. The people are different. They’re more open and caring here especially the Junior League of Boca Raton and the Danciu Family.”

However, she frequently returns to New Orleans to visit Jamie and her mother. “I miss my son and mom. I went back in June, some areas are completely devastated, some abandoned, and some are livable again,” she said. “But I never went to my house. I just couldn’t do it.”

On the other hand, hope is not lost. “I realize I could have lost someone and I didn’t,” she said. “Family is what matters most.”

The Guidry family is looking for another home in Boca; contact Sondra at sondralynn@hotmail.com