SLIPPERY ROCK — Volunteering to help victims of Hurricane Katrina can be addictive.

For Kevin and Margie Travaglio of West Sunbury, a week-long commitment to volunteer has turned into almost two years of dedication to the cause. The couple bought a travel trailer and decided to live in it as they helped coordinate rebuilding efforts in Louisiana.

Teens in the Laughlin family, as well as friend Laura Metrick, all of Mt. Chestnut, even agree they prefer the work to a trip to Disney World.

"With a mission trip like this, you're thrown in with people you would have never crossed paths with," said Luke Laughlin, 16. "I'd rather work than go to Disney World."

The teens, members of Mt. Chestnut Presbyterian Church, the Travaglios of West Sunbury United Presbyterian, and Margaret and Vernon Boyer of Highland Presbyterian Church, all became involved with the same group, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, through their respective churches.

That same agency is sending Kevin Krecjci, construction coordinator for its Presbyterian Community Outreach program, to Highland Presbyterian Church on Tuesday. He will be staying locally and advocating the program through the end of August, according to Margaret Boyer. Krecjci will be available to speak to churches, service clubs or other groups during his visit.

The outreach program is usually the last place people go when they run out of other options, Boyer said. For example, some are still waiting for money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and some don't qualify for Habitat for Humanity homes, she said. One elderly woman had her FEMA check stolen by her daughter and still had no place to live.

And contrary to popular belief, there is still plenty of work to be done.

"People think that it's all over, but it's not," she said of the work to rebuild towns affected by Katrina.

Since the hurricane hit in August 2005, many assume the problem has been remedied, according to the couple. Instead, many residents still live in FEMA trailers.

The town where Boyer and other local volunteers helped out in the past two years, Slidell, La., is about 60 percent back to its original state, according to Boyer's husband, Vernon.

The devastation doesn't only affect private residences, but businesses in the area as well. Hotel rooms aren't available because that's where many local residents are staying. Many restaurants are closed because there aren't enough people to work there.

According to Boyer, the former workers have either relocated or are helping with clean-up efforts.

When Joyce Laughlin and her teenagers arrived, they had to stay in a church social hall that had been converted into dorms for volunteers.

While they were there, the family helped rebuild a home that had been gutted in the hurricane.

"By the time we left, they (the teens) had grouted the floor, hung light fixtures, installed fans, toilets and sinks, and cleaned up garbage in the yard left there from the flooding," Laughlin said.

"If I was to redo my basement, I sure wouldn't think to call my youth group,"she said. "These kids turned the shell of the house into a home."

The payback was worth it, according to the teens. From the homeowners, who were awestruck when they moved back in, to the occasional person who would drive by and just yell "Thank you," out the car window, it was easy to see the impact they made.

"It feels really good, like you gave people their lives back,"said Metrick, 15.

Nichole Laughlin, 19, agreed. "It's more than building a house, it's building a life," she said.

Margie Travaglio said she and her husband planned to follow up their first visit to Slidell with a side trip to Disney World in Florida. After a few days of work, they decided they couldn't make the side trip.

"We realized we had to stay,"she said.

Since then, the couple has spent months living in their 27-foot-long travel trailer just working on homes all day.

"People are so transplanted, taken to shelters, staying with relatives," she said. "They're facing a depression. Some used to know only their neighborhood, and now they don't know whether they're coming back. They don't know what they're neighbors are doing."

After helping rebuild the home of one woman who lost her husband in the flood, Margaret Boyer felt like she had gained a new daughter. The woman, named Ida, who also had a 10-year-old daughter, couldn't even walk near the entrance of her old home until it was rebuilt.

"She had a healing of the heart,"after the house was finished, Boyer said.

Other trips to Louisiana might be planned in the future among the three churches. Those interested in volunteering should call 724-794-8410.

<B>WHAT: </B>Reunion picnic for Slidell, La., mission volunteers<B>WHEN: </B>5 p.m., August 30<B>WHERE: </B>Highland Presbyterian Church, 310 Franklin St., Slippery Rock<B>COST: </B>None<B>INFO: </B>Participants are asked to take photos and a dish to share. Kevin Krecjci will present updates on latest recovery efforts.