Hurricane Katrina Crisis

Although my blogs have been sporadic since Rita, my dedication to helping the families has not. Unfortunately, I had to make some adjustments with my company in an effort to keep a roof over my head, but I do maintain regular contact with the families that I’ve met over the past month. Sometimes our conversations are just general talk but it takes time to put it down on paper and for that I apologize.

Not much has changed here in Houston, there are several families still waiting for assistance and permanent housing. As stated previously the City of Houston and the Houston Housing Authority have been providing many families with 6-month to 12-month housing vouchers. The only problem is for families who had already moved into housing prior to receiving a voucher â€" some of the apartment complexes are refusing to participate. I have been trying to get to the bottom of it but have yet to get a viable explanation. When and if I do, I’ll be sure to post it.

Step 1 is complete- the flood waters have been pumped out of New Orleans. The levees are being rebuilt, but I have a problem with how and when:

"Another task force has begun rebuilding the levees to their pre-Katrina condition. That work is scheduled to be finished by the time the next hurricane season begins June 1."

CNN has video of the cops in New Orleans beating a drunk 64 year old Black man. Read the story, watch the video.

The article mentions the circumstances the cops have been working in:

New Orleans police have been working under stressful conditions since the hurricane. Officers slept in their cars and worked 24-hour shifts after the storm. Three-quarters lost their homes and their families are scattered across the country.

Yesterday, Jesse Jackson bused some evacuees back to New Orleans and held a press conference where he demanded that the goverment allow former residents the chance to rebuild their own city.

The City of New Orleans can't afford to pay their entire workforce, so they're laying off thousands of people. Mayor Nagin writes:

New Orleans had requested funds from State government, the Federal Government and private resources in an effort to locate money for payroll. Unfortunately, the City was not able to obtain sufficient funds, resulting in the implementation of the mandatory layoff.

Yesterday and today I’ve been speaking with some of my new found adopted families in an effort to assist them in their transition to a new city. A couple of families told me that they had returned home this past weekend.

There are still many Katrina families in Houston without permanent housing.

We all know that the Houston began evacuating the remaining residents at the Reliant Center and George R. Brown Convention Center to places like Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas, Tennessee and a small number to Nebraska. However, what isn't being told are the several thousand families who were still residing in hotels in and around the Houston area. Many of those told that they would have to evacuate due to Hurricane Rita because the hotel was shutting down.

I know of one family that left the hotel with a small amount of clothing and left other personal belongings in their hotel room because of the lack of space. They drove to a town right outside of Austin and registered with a local shelter. When they called back to the hotel on Saturday, they were told that the hotel was no longer participating in ! the Red Cross/FEMA voucher program, even though the program had been extended through Oct. 15th due to the lack of confirmed permanent housing by FEMA. When they inquired about their personal belongings the desk clerk informed them that she did not have any information about that and suggested that they call back to speak with the hotel manager. Because I too had evacuated, I have not yet had a chance to follow up and find out what happened upon their return to Houston however, I can imagine that this incident has happened to several hundred other Katrina families who were calling the Houston hotel rooms, their temporary home.