Communities are giving back to workers who are helping with the Ida recovery process

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - There is nothing better than a hot meal after a long day of work. Many linemen, tree trimmers and clean-up workers are working 16 plus hours shifts, day after day, trying to make folks’ homes normal again.

It’s why people like Johnny Dollar from St. Amant are choosing to feed those who are working around the clock to take care of the people affected by Hurricane Ida.

“Just kind of the right thing to do, you know, if you got the ability to do it,” says Dollar.

On his days off from work, he’s been cooking big pots of gumbo and jambalaya for the linemen, the military at the Lamar-Dixon Center and just about anyone who needs it.

“Oh, we’ve had everything from people crying to people trying to pay us. You know what I mean, God’s going to pay it all before it’s over with. There ain’t no need like that,” adds Dollar.

Some of those are paying it forward in the Baton Rouge area. Gulf Coast Occupational Medicine is giving out food and water to all types of workers who are cleaning up after the storm.

“The South is known for hospitality, and it’s time to step up right now for our workforce that’s really hard working to get us back to where we need to be as a state,” says Sarah Taylor, who is the owner of the Gulf Coast Occupational Medicine.

Taylor is the head of this operation, she says this is common for her company when a natural disaster hits Louisiana, but this is the first time they are hosting linemen. They are giving them a place to their clothes and eat.

“They can’t do a really good job for us during the day if they are sleeping on the seat of the truck or in a bucket. These guys need a bed to sleep in, they need air conditioning, they need hot showers and they need good food. If we want them to put out for us, we need to put out for them that’s what we are doing here,” adds Taylor.

If you would like to donate to Gulf Coast Occupational Medicine you can contact Sarah Taylor at (225)-939-7057. If you would like to make a contribution to Johnny Dollar, he says you can reach out to him on Facebook.

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