House mates after Hurricane Katrina, (from left) Kristi Railey, Miko Marshall, Hiroshi Futagoishi, and Bo Railey look at photographs taken of Marshall’s and Futagoishi’s New Orleans home.

Miko Marshall and Hiroshi Futagoishi’s bedroom in their New Orleans home now has mold growing from ceiling to floor. Items from the home were left scattered throughout the room.

BROWNSBURG — Every light in the house is on at Hiroshi Futagoishi and Miko Marshall’s home. The couple said they sit in the living room and listen to crickets chirping, frogs croaking, and “all the other noises” that night time in the country brings. While it sounds tranquil to some, to Futagoishi and Marshall, it’s quiet — almost too quiet.

The couple relocated here from New Orleans and said they’re used to “loud nights.” They came to Indiana after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast.

Evacuating the area had almost become routine during hurricane season in the Big Easy, Futagoishi said, and just as they had each time before, the couple packed about three days’ worth of clothing and drove to higher ground. Just as in seasons past, they made some adjustments before leaving by wrapping a few items in plastic bags, putting the couch on top of a table, and unplugging the electrical appliances.

They first took shelter in Gulf Port, Miss., with Marshall’s mother and stepfather. Once that area was also hit, Futagoishi drove her parents to Georgia to stay with other family members. Futagoishi went to Houston — by way of friends who had also fled their homes — to join the tens of thousands of other evacuees.

He was in Houston for nearly a week before he was able to make his way back to New Orleans.

Meanwhile, Brownsburg residents Bo and Kristi Railey were driving to Arkansas for their annual fall vacation and thinking of a young couple they had met at a High Intensity seminar in Indianapolis where Ryan Hall, owner of New Orleans Exercise, Inc., was speaking.

In pre-hurricane days, Futagoishi worked for Hall as a personal trainer and Marshall attended commercial interior design classes.

“While we were driving, Bo and I were talking about taking a fall vacation when there were so many people that needed help,” Kristi Railey said. “So we began calling Ryan to see if he was OK and if there was anything we could do ... anyone we could help.”

Bo Railey, owner of Exercise Inc. in Brownsburg and Avon, said he was ready to expand his businesses and hire an additional trainer.

“I knew that Ryan had 14 trainers and I knew that somebody was going to need work,” he said. “I told him, ‘If one of your people want to come up and work, I can hire one person full time.’”

By way of cell phone and text messaging, Hall was able to connect the two couples.

Marshall headed back to New Orleans to join Futagoishi, while he made his way back to their State Street apartment to assess the damage.

“It was terrible,” he said. “Everything was gone. There was nothing we could keep, except maybe some clothes. Some water was still in the house and black stuff, almost oil, was everywhere. On everything.”

That’s when the text messages began to fly. Futagoishi told the Raileys that hardly anything they owned had survived the hurricane and Marshall texted that she needed to get into a college.

Bo Railey is president of the Avon Rotary Club and Kristi Railey is president of the Brownsburg Rotary Club. They said they knew that if they could get the couple to Indiana, their fellow Rotarians and others in the community would do the rest.

Kristi Railey began an e-mail chain and said help soon began pouring in. They learned that officials with the Indianapolis International Airport were refurbishing homes on airport land and opening them up to evacuees and that Indiana University-Purdue University was admitting students from southern universities.

“Our first priority was to get Miko to a counselor’s office at IUPUI and see what we could do,” Kristi said. “Second was to meet at the airport. And we had to do it all before 5 p.m.”

The two women headed for downtown Indianapolis and Bo Railey started making phone calls.

“The very first day he was here, I called Laughlin’s Menswear and explained to him what was going on and he said to bring him over,” Bo Railey said. “I took Hiroshi over that day and they sized him up and gave him some clothes.”

Stout Shoes donated footwear to the couple.

The Raileys began making phone calls to individuals and small businesses whom they knew wanted to help with the nationwide effort.

“A lot of people don’t know what to do or where to send money,” he said. “People also wanted to see their donations being used for (evacuees) that came here.”

Donations of coats, household goods, and other items began pouring in from the Brownsburg Christian Church, Rotary clubs, and other organizations, Kristi Railey said.

“Just basic stuff that you go through your day and you think, ‘OK, what did I use today that I would like to not live without,’” she said.

Futagoishi and Marshall are now living in one of the airport homes and, while they appreciate everything the Raileys and the community have done for them, they are eager to get back to their Louisiana home.

“Hopefully, we can get back home in about 18 months,” Futagoishi said. “It’s always warm there and here, it’s getting cold. Very cold.”