Kennesaw Police Officer heading to Louisiana to help hurricane victims

KENNESAW, Ga - A Kennesaw police officer is heading to Louisiana to help victims of Hurricane Ida with some of the most basic necessities.  Officer Mike O'Brien knows that even one or two people helping out can make a big difference in someone's life.

O'Brien is the founder of the Community Incident Response Foundation. He goes into areas impacted by natural disasters and focuses on providing people with clean clothes and hot showers.

"The power of a shower is incredible. You're in the middle of a disaster or homeless that shower is so powerful it washes away physically and mentally what's going on in your life," said O'Brien.

O'Brien has a shower trailer.

"It has hot water, air conditioning, just like your house," said O'Brien.

He's hauling it to Louisiana to help people who have lost just about everything in Hurricane Ida.

"If we can go there and provide a shower for people who have just lost their house and have lost everything, just for that 10 or 15 minutes, they can feel human again," said O'Brien.

As a Kennesaw Police Officer, O'Brien knows how important it is to lend a hand to others. A few years ago when a hurricane tore through North Carolina, he drove out there to help. It was then he knew he could do more. Eventually, that desire to help others turned into the Community Incident Response Foundation

He built a laundry truck with 4 washers and dryers so people would have a place to wash their clothes. He takes it along with the shower trailer Into some of the hardest hit areas.

As O'Brien and his neighbor, Joe Kelley, loaded up additional supplies Wednesday night for the trip he said he wouldn't be able to do any of this without the friends, neighbors and businesses who have helped out financially and with donations, as well as his fellow officers who fill in for him at work.

"I have a lot of support from my chief and he command staff, and I couldn't do this with out my shift, my Sergeant picking up the slack when I'm gone.  Face value, it's one guy going, but there's a lot of people behind me," said O'Brien.

When he's not protecting and serving the citizens of Kennesaw or rushing off to a natural disaster area, O'Brien helps the homeless with his foundation. 

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