What if your family and friends lived thousands of miles away during a massive tragedy and your phones didn’t work? To make matters scary, your loved ones lived right in the area where a tropical storm swept away thousands of homes, businesses and lives, leaving them covered in water.

Welcome to the last week of Detroit Shock forward Barbara Farris’ life. Deep in the middle of a heated WNBA Playoff race in which the Shock were successful, parlaying it into a first round match-up against the Connecticut Sun, to say Farris had a lot going on is an understatement. A native of Harvey, LA, about 15 minutes outside of the heart and soul of New Orleans and a graduate of Tulane University, Farris knew her family members’ lives would be safe when Hurricane Katrina hit, but wasn’t sure what the repercussions of the storm would be.

As New Orleans and other areas of the Gulf Region, including Biloxi, MS were ravaged by Hurricane Katrina on August 31 Barbara’s family, father Alvin, mother Juanita, sister Ebony and brother Doug were safe. The Farris family left the area for their home away from home, four and a half hours away from the city, in Dequincy, LA.

“My family and I are very lucky. My family can’t complain because my dad’s family is from Dequincy, near Lake Charles,” said Farris. “The fact that they were able to go there – four and a half hours away – several days before the storm hit was crucial. When the storm hit, I heard about everything happening on the news, just like everyone else, but I knew my family was safe. Since then the only consistent form of communication has been through text messaging.”

There is one catch, however. Juanita Farris stayed behind.

“My mom is a nurse in New Orleans at West Jefferson Hospital on the West Bank,” said Farris. “She stayed behind to help those that weren’t as fortunate as we were. They don’t have power at the hospital she’s at, and they don’t have power at many of the hospitals down there right now.”

Farris mentioned that her mother would not go into detail about what she’s seen and what’s happening around her down there, only that several nurses are quitting due to the intensity of the job.

“She thought it would distract me from focusing on playing well during the playoffs,” laughed Farris. “It’s amazing that despite where she’s at right now, she’s still focusing on the Shock.”

Juanita Farris is not the only person linked to the Palace Sports & Entertainment family who has taken it upon themselves to help out with the relief effort.

Pistons players Lindsey Hunter, Rasheed Wallace, Dale Davis, Ronald Dupree and Chauncey Billups, President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars and new Head Coach Flip Saunders have all been involved in the relief effort.

Early in the week, Dumars – who went to college at McNeese State and also has family and friends in Louisiana – flew down via plane, to bring supplies and goods to those in need. Wallace and Davis are putting together a group of athletes to gather donations and bring immediate aid to victims. Wallace’s goal is to deliver a metric ton of food, water and supplies to those affected. Hunter, who went to college at Jackson State and has several family members and friends in the Gulf Region as well, is organizing similar collection efforts and has visited the area since the storm hit.

“I'm deeply moved by the events that have transpired following Hurricane Katrina because it certainly hit close to home for me,” said Hunter. “Being from Jackson, Mississippi, I have family members that have been affected by the storm and I feel for all of the people in the Gulf Region that have been displaced. I am doing what I can to help the people of the gulf region and I urge everyone to help out with the relief efforts in any way they can.”

Billups, Saunders and Dumars have recorded local PSAs, encouraging people to donate to the American Red Cross and other organizations for hurricane relief. Dupree (Louisiana State) and Pistons forward Antonio McDyess (Alabama) have strong family ties in the Gulf Region.

While some of these members of the Pistons organization have visited or have plans to visit the Gulf Region, Farris is torn about going back.

“That’s my home, Tulane’s closed, babies are lost, bodies are floating around, you really don’t believe it. In one sense I really want to be there, in the other sense I don’t want to be there at all.”

The Farris family went back to their home on the West Bank in Harvey on Monday, September 5. There was minimal water damage, again a lucky break, according to Barbara, a multiple winner of the WNBA Community Assist Award and Palace Sports & Entertainment’s 2004 Shock Employee of the Year. “We’re really lucky. My family is so thankful for what we do have during this time when there is looting going on, people dying and others in dire straights.”

So, what’s next for Barbara and her family?

The Palace has provided Farris an apartment in Auburn Hills until she leaves to play professionally overseas after Christmas. Her sister, Ebony, who was enrolled at University of New Orleans – which currently no longer exists – will move to Michigan immediately, live with Barbara for now and attend classes at Oakland University.

What about her parents? “They are a few years shy of retirement and they’re tired of hurricanes,” Farris said. “It’s something we’ve dealt with our whole lives and it’s too hard anticipating when the next big one will come. I know my parents do not want to go back to the area. It’s tough on us, but we’re lucky. I’ll always consider (New Orleans) my home.”

Even though the Shock ended up losing their playoff series to Connecticut 2-0, Farris looks forward and counts her blessings.

Other notes: Shock guard Elaine Powell (Louisiana State) and forward Cheryl Ford (Louisiana Tech) both have family, friends and strong ties in the Gulf Region, but thankfully were not as affected by the hurricane as Farris…Seattle Storm center Janell Burse has been in constant contact with Farris since the tragedy. She is a native of New Orleans and her family lives in Ninth Ward – in the heart of the city. She owns a house in Slidell, LA, about 20 miles outside of the city. Thankfully, reported Farris, Burse’s sister lives in Houston, Texas and has been able to house many family members. Burse currently has family scattered in Texas, Louisiana and Chicago, but everyone is safe and accounted for…WNBA Senior Vice President Renee Brown has made a round of calls to players such as Farris and Burse, checking on them to make sure they are okay in this time of tragedy.