We also kept hearing about
the desperate need for volunteers, yet when we pulled into the volunteer parking lot, there were a group of about seven Texas
law enforcement officials all huddled together under the shade of an overhang in the perfect Kodak moment that made you think
there was nothing to do but sit around and relax in the shade. When we pulled
up to ask about where to register as volunteers, the officers displayed arrogance and indifference. However, later we realized
that this group was not representative of the hundreds of officers that were being helpful and courteous. It was just such an odd and unexpected scene to be at the entrance.
From our initial glance,
it also appeared that perhaps everyone has everything that they needed. As we
parked our rental car, a new stroller and a few other new items were just sitting in the parking lot discarded, as if someone
had replaced it with something better. We didn’t know what to think.
Within a few minutes we were
in the Reliant
Center, across from the Astrodome, where everything was being coordinated.
We provided identification and registered as volunteers. We were given orange wrist bands to identify ourselves. Hurricane victims were easily identifiable with blue or pink wrist bands. The Red
Cross had red bands. We proceeded across the room to a five minute volunteer
orientation. We were told about the worry of disease spreading and to wear plastic
gloves at all times because of fear about spreading E. Coil, Hepatitis A and other diseases from the exposure of the victims
in their rescue plights and their initial living conditions here. We were also
warned not to talk to the victims unless we were spoken to and don’t do things like pick up babies or taking photos. And to use volunteer bathrooms only and always stay paired up with other volunteers
for our safety. We were shocked. And
during the entire week, we never felt unsafe.
The moment our orientation
was finished, we were rushed over to our first assignment. The assignment area
coordinated volunteer assignments for many different agencies; the Red Cross was only one of them. We were rushed to food service to help serve dinner. We were
told they had been short of volunteers at breakfast and lunch and they were trying hard to do a better job at dinner. A group of about ten of us was escorted to the food area, after being frisked for
weapons. As it turned out, we were in an area that for some reason was mostly serving volunteers and not many showed up to
eat. Snacks and drinks were provided in abundance all day long everyday and on
this particular day, there was a company grilling hot dogs and link sausages all day from a truck by the main area. We think people had been eating all day. Still, we stayed
and distributed beverages for about three hours.
We learned about what was
currently really happening for aid. Victims, (they really wanted us to call them
residents or guests), were allowed to take as many clothes as they wanted and there was a huge warehouse filled with donations
of everything imaginable, much more than these people will probably ever need and more is coming in by truckloads. Although
everything anyone could want is probably here, one coordinator told us that things were coming in so fast; they couldn’t
inventory or sort things for distribution because the amount coming in was so overwhelming.
Some truck loads were even refused, but when the drivers threatened to call the press, they took them.
Earlier the week before,
there were up to 15,000 people here, all sharing only 80 showers. When we arrived,
we believe it was down to about 6000, since many people were being relocated to shelters and hotels. At first FEMA was arranging for three months of paid for rent in apartments, condo and homes, but later
it was extended to six months. Continental Airlines is giving victims a free
one way ticket anywhere in the USA and Amtrak is doing the same. Mexican Airlines was offering one way tickets for
any Mexicans involved in the disaster. However, we never saw any Mexicans here.
All of the victims here, at the shelters we visited, and people we met at hotels were black.
We saw a few white victims. The people that were here seemed like they
were the poorest of the poor, although I am sure there were exceptions. Most
everyone seemed to be in shock, but they were dealing with it. It was a rare
moment to see someone broken down to tears, but certainly they had much to cry about.
Relief organizers were trying
to get everyone placed by the weekend to prepare for a football game. Desperate
people were being inconvenienced to no end while being shuffled around even to other temporary living areas in the facilities
here at the Astrodome and Reliant Center while shifting though red tape of long lines and filling out forms that many of them
could not understand. Almost none of them had identification on them. Many didn’t know their address. I imagine many didn’t
know their social security numbers, making it very difficult to register them for assistance.
Many were elderly and in wheelchairs. People were given uncomfortable
cots to sleep on, some of them only inches from the next cot, with all their new belongings mostly in trash bags that surrounded
their new living areas. Some had donated matching luggage. The victims were not left with much dignity although it had improved greatly from earlier reports.
Temporary basket ball courts
were set up to pass the day. Many of the teenagers and adults were playing. There was entertainment once in a while in a few areas. Free phones were set up for calls anywhere in the United States. An expanding group of computers with Internet connections was set up
staffed with volunteers to help find lost relatives and friends, find jobs, etc.
Throughout our experience,
people were asking us what group we belonged to and were surprised that we were just private citizens without any organized
affiliation. However, there were many individual private citizens that were volunteers. The number of them that came in from other states at their own expense to give help
was staggering. Even people from other countries were there to help. We met one
man who was representing a church group from Riverside, California who came with two vans to transport two families back. His church group had arranged fully furnished homes with all the expenses paid for a year in an organized
effort to help families get back on their feet.
We had many volunteer assignments
with many organizations and we did much on our own. A company called, Share Your Soles was there with a truck load of high quality slightly used shoes to distribute. The founder, Mona Purdy usually traveled all over the world distributing shoes this way to families in
need. She was very busy along side us helping individuals find correct sizes
and styles they wanted for their families. In the beginning, each person was
allowed three pairs, then later in the day, they could have whatever they wanted and people were walking away with boxes full. Organizers were again worried about a frenzy, so they had the National Guard posted
at two entrances and only allowed about 25 people in at a time. There of course, was never a problem. People were very gracious and happy and it was good experience for us too.
On another evening, we were
ready to take off for the day at about 11
p.m., when it was suddenly announced that they were in
desperate need of helping move the elderly and disabled to a new sleeping area in another building. Of course we went. People weren’t very happy and why
would they to be moved and inconvenienced at this hour. They were also being
moved back to a smaller building with less living space and they had already been there before. But, we were told it was an effort to get everyone remaining under one space rather in multiple buildings. Small buses would pull up with a handful of victims and piles of bags… all their
new belongings. Volunteers would scramble to get them to the door to register
again as they were coming in, while their belongings were generally coming in from another door. Many of the victims were upset, because they were worried about losing their new belongings. It made no sense, so we did our best to follow them in, mostly hand-carrying belongings so they could feel
secure and get them set up by their cots. No one had pillows. Many were told they would be getting new pillows when they got there and to leave their others behind. There were none for at least two days. There
also were not enough blankets. Still, we managed to help one man in a wheelchair
to get an extra blanket to roll up for use as a pillow. This was grueling work;
most of the bags were very heavy. This went on for two to three hours until we
were exhausted. We also were going to go out and buy pillows, but we knew…
how could we get enough for all these people? And there were probably already
hundreds here that had been donated and were just sitting in storage.
Before we left from California, we had made a good contact with the director of the Unity Church in Houston, Rima Bonario. When we went to see her in person, she told
us of mother and daughter survivors who were sick, but still helping a group of 75 people that she had been able to house
nearby. They couldn’t afford some comfortable clothes to work in everyday. They had been sharing one nylon jogging suit, since it represented the most comfort
to them. When we heard about it, we went to one of the local sporting good stores
and bought three high quality Adidas nylon jogging suits. Rima was going to gift
wrap them and deliver them personally, later that evening. We were able to use
funds that many of you had donated for direct help like this. Thank you!
Another one of our personal
stops was a senior citizen rest home that had taken in some hurricane survivors but had been neglected with donations. We tried to make contact with the director when we got there, but she was nowhere
to be found. We left her a note with gifts of pre-paid phone cards and pre-stamped
postcards they could use for loved ones and friends.
On another occasion, back
at the Reliant Center, we were rushed to child care, because a couple had left their children there past the curfew and protective
services was about to pick them up if someone didn’t show up to take them until the parents returned. However, we arrived only to find out we had to have child care licenses to help, but luckily the parents
arrived just in time, at the same moment that we did.
It was true that it was difficult
to approach the victims in conversation and it was not always appropriate, but to us and many other volunteers it only widened
racial discrimination to not talk to them unless being spoken to. You had to
use your judgment. This is what should have really been told to us in orientation. Many people were looking for help and wanted someone to help them with some frustration. Jeffery still took photos too although we had to be discreet about it. The children especially loved the attention and many adults did tool.
We gave several disposable cameras away to victims who were appreciative of being able to record their experiences.
We had a small rental car. It became evident that lots of people were needed who wouldn’t mind transporting
victims to their newly assigned homes. None of the agencies would do it or supply
buses for this purpose because neither FEMA nor any other organization would agree to take on the liability of any victim
if they were in an accident or if something occurred while in transit. The other
two of us couldn’t help Dondi, the car was too small. She took two different
families and got the chance to hear some of the really personal stories.
One mother of two young children
cried when Dondi arrived at their new home, a beautiful three bedroom, two bathroom condo with fireplace, washer and dryer,
etc. She was glowing with appreciation. FEMA had provided her and her family
with six months of free rent, and then their rent would be at a discounted rate of $550 a month, plus she was given a $2000
debit card, a check for $2000, food stamps and a food stamp program, plus a Red Cross card for $800 for any medical needs.
She also had bags and bags of clothes and new possessions. Dondi had a difficult
time struggling to bring these up a few flights of stairs. On the way there Dondi
stopped at the grocery store and bought her some things that the food stamps didn’t provide, like pots and pans, etc. She also gave them and the second family we moved some gift bags made especially for
the kids.
The second family Dondi moved
related to her some of their personal accounts of the horrors of the Superdome in New Orleans. We had heard some of these stories already.
The boyfriend of the couple she was moving was a huge guy with a muscular build and he told her that even he was afraid
for his life. Dead bodies were everywhere in plain view, since babies and adults
were dying in the heat without food and water for days. Mother’s were carrying
their dead babies around in popcorn buckets, the only thing they could find. Women
were getting raped, you could hear the screams. People were going to the bathroom
everywhere. The fecal matter was three feet high flowing out of the bathrooms
that were no longer working. The police that were there were doing nothing while
looters were breaking into areas and causing violence. Tons of people witnessed
a National Guardsman having his gun taken away and then his murder. Criminals were stealing babies so that they could get
on the first buses out, pretending they were theirs.
Another story from the New
Orleans Superdome; Someone else told us that one member of the National Guard told a group of white tourists from England
to stand together with all the women in the inside of their circle to protect them, then whispered to them that the stadium
was about to lose its temporary power and they would be left in complete darkness and not to turn their flashlights on for
fear of their skin color being discovered and becoming victims of violence.
Back at the Reliant
Center, many people were still looking for lost family and babies.
One elated mother found her daughter on the day before we left. Another
one had three family members she still couldn’t find.
At the hotel, we met a young
family with a four year old child who had been relocated to the hotel early in the experience.
They had found an apartment for $100 the first month and $500 afterwards, but were concerned to take it since $500
a month was considerably more than they had ever paid in New Orleans. They hadn’t
heard about FEMA supplying 6 months of free rent and the other benefits until we told them.
We gave them a list of resources, phone numbers and people who could help them get registered. They had no way of making local calls, the Marriott charged for these and they really only had money for
food. We gave them phone cards to use, a duffle bag that Jeffery had brought
to give to someone in need and a $50 gift card to Wal-Mart that had been donated from one of our contacts in Colorado, plus
a gift bag for their son and a disposable camera to record their experiences. They
were very appreciative.
One of the fun highlights
for me was a moment with the volunteers when Jeffery Pollock approached the volunteer area microphone (the room was as big
as Wal-Mart and there were about 50 tired volunteers there). Everyday, all day long, everything that transpired in this area
was serious and intense. In a voice that billowed throughout the whole room,
Jeffery announced, “Everyone please rise for the National Anthem.” Many in the room stood and put their hands over their hearts. He proceeded to sing the entire Star Spangled Banner, word for word, mostly in key. People clapped and roared with laughter. It was some needed
comic relief for everyone. There was a lot of camaraderie with many of the volunteers.
Those of you that supported
our effort by sending donations and gifts for us to distribute, we thank you so much for these. We all wished we could have stayed for another week, and this was the feeling of most of the volunteers
when they had to leave. At the point that we left, there were still about 4000
people left at the Reliant Center and Richard Cinta was still working tirelessly every day in an effort to help individuals
and families in need. We are confident that the victims will receive most of
what they need from the government to restart their lives, although some will be caught up in red tape for a while. They will however need continued support in many areas such as guidance in planning their new lives and
using their new financial resources wisely to plan for their future, learning new job skills that support them with the income
needed to live in their new geographical locations. And at the moment, thousands
of volunteers are still being needed not only in Houston but in many other locations. We learned that one businessman brought 1000 victims
to San Diego to help them. Most local churches in almost any city are a good resource to find
victims in need of continued support. And of course America is also abundant with those less fortunate that may not have been involved with hurricane Katrina, but are in their
own desperate situations, and they are in every city and town.
For those who want to continue
to help, here are a few resources:
Unity Church of Houston
Executive Director: Rima
Bonario (713) 782-4050
2909 Hilcroft #200
Houston, TX 77057
http://www.unityhouston.org
Join Richard Cinta’s Email List for specific donations
still needed in Houston:
richardc@wt.net
A few Websites:
www.RedCross.org
www.Fema.gov
www.UnitedWay.org
www.Neighbors2Neighbors.org
www.HoustonTx.gov
www.UnitedWayHouston.gov
Thanks for your attention and for the many
people from across the nation who responded to our email and sent donations.
Blessings,
