Lines poured out doors, telephones rang off their hooks and people sought every kind of assistance imaginable — eyeglasses, wheelchairs, shelter and food.

Iowa City’s Terry Sobotta wanted to help Hurricane Katrina victims, and he could think of no better way to do so than in person. So he flew to New Orleans.

Based out of an American Red Cross client services  center, he served tirelessly for 20 days in November.

“I traveled all over in rural areas, places we don’t hear too much about. I was seeing people’s homes — nice homes — flattened. It was beyond the scope of what I ever anticipated,” Sobotta said. “And to see a big city like (New Orleans) was not functioning, big buildings with their windows blown out, cars flipped over, no traffic — it was like the ‘Twilight Zone.’”

Sobotta, 54, is a Realtor for Iowa Realty.

Although not the reason he went to New Orleans, Sobotta said there is a culture of volunteering at his workplace, which creates a sense of positive peer pressure. He said many people are involved in various programs and there is a lot of support for those who want to help others.

That support allowed him to take part in an unforgettable experience that not only inspired him but changed his life. The most profound moments were seeing people who had lost everything, yet were helping others, he said.

Sobotta said seeing the disaster first hand opened his eyes.

“Things like that could happen to us right here in Iowa. We should prepare ourselves not only with an emergency kit for home, but also with support for local agencies like Red Cross, United Way and the Salvation Army. I never realized how important those groups were until I went down there and saw them in action. I was taken aback by how generous and giving the American public is. They allowed the Red Cross to go down and do that,” he said.

— Brian Morelli

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