Chris Ryan a hurricane Katrina hero
September 9, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
"Dad, why are you giving our clothes away to strangers?" asked Chris Ryan's children late last week.
Ryan, a fullback/linebacker for each of the Philadelphia Soul's first two seasons, resides with his family in Lake Charles, LA. The mid-sized town is tucked in the southwestern corner of Louisiana - some 200 miles from the devastation and destruction dealt to New Orleans by Mother Nature. Ryan estimates that "probably 10,000 to 15,000 people" have taken up residence in Lake Charles in the past week as a result of Hurricane Katrina's wrath.
Like many other community buildings currently doubling as housing shelters in the deep south, the Lake Charles Civic Center and Burton Coliseum are now home to hundreds of scared, lost, broken, sick and lonely people. And Ryan, like so many others in this desperate time, believes it is his responsibility to lend a hand.
"I wanted my kids to see this."
Late last week, Ryan led his son, Christopher (9), and daughter, Montoya (6), through a Lake Charles shelter handing out clothes to children in need. Some of the clothes were Christopher's and Montoya's. Others were purchased by Ryan at a local Wal-Mart specifically for this purpose.
"I sat there and had to explain to my kids why we were giving their stuff away to total strangers," Ryan explains. "I wanted them to see this. I wanted them to understand the good we were doing for people who were just devastated." It wasn't an easy sell to his kids at first, he admits. But after Christopher and Montoya began passing out clothes to other kids their age and saw the gratitude in their eyes, they asked their father to go back to the house to find more things to give away.
Ryan, who on a daily basis has been visiting shelters to assist in handing out food, water and supplies, acknowledges he was not very keen on the idea when his step mother initially suggested it. But after seeing the conditions these people are now faced with, he realized his call to duty.
"It bothers me seeing people wearing the same clothes every day," he says. "They don't know if their house is still standing and they didn't even have time to pack suitcases. What they're wearing on their back is all they have."
Ryan is speaking via a garbled cell phone signal from Lake Charles where mobile phone service has been spotty at best since Katrina, he says.
"We are really blessed."
"We are really blessed," Ryan says. "That could have just as easily been my town, my house being destroyed by that storm."
So he tries to help bring a smile to the people in these shelters - especially the children. He talks to them about being a professional athlete and the importance of an education. He plays with them and their toys. He has even played the occasional chauffeur - driving people around town showing them where stores and social services buildings are.
One day in passing through a particular shelter, he noticed an elderly woman sleeping on the floor. Ryan was so moved by the sight of her he drove home, loaded up his own bed into his truck, and brought it back for her.
He and his friend met a young woman outside of a Wal-Mart who had three children with her and no place to stay. Ryan's friend took the four strangers into his own home for two days until she tracked down some family in Dallas, TX. Ryan and his friend then drove them to the bus station, purchased four tickets, and sent them to Dallas.
"There are times I want to cry."
"It's sad," Ryan says. "They're not going back home anytime soon. You sit there trying to talk to them, trying to keep their minds off the situation they are in, but sometimes you just don't know what to say. There are times I want to cry."
Ryan mentions the large number of families he has met who were forced to leave their pets behind when fleeing their homes. The AFL veteran owns a couple of horses in Lake Charles, so he, Christopher and Montoya took a few of the kids to a ranch to ride horses. Anything to keep their minds off of their situation - even for a short time.
Chris Ryan doesn't know how soon the 15,000 new inhabitants of his town will be heading home. He's not even sure they have homes to which they will be able to return. But it is stories like his that help re-build broken families, homes and - hopefully now - even cities.
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from September 9, 2005
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