Cuney Homes Resident Council

Evacuees find relief, grapple with worry at Hirsch

Sep 03, 2005

September 3, 2005


By Alexandyr Kent
akent@gannett.com


Local/State NewsEvacuees find relief, grapple with worry at Hirsch
September 3, 2005

Tralley Thomas and Da'Jon Perique play a video game to pass the time in the Red Cross Shelter at LSUS. (Shane Bevel/The Times)
By Alexandyr Kent
akent@gannett.com

On an arena floor packed with cots, inflatable beds and donated goods, many of the approximately 1,000 evacuees appear to have settled comfortably but anxiously into life at a shelter.

Under the umbrella organization of the Northwest Louisiana chapter of the American Red Cross, pastors from the First Assembly of God in Shreveport and other volunteers are organizing relief efforts at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, providing food, clothing, medical services, medication, mental health counseling services and recreation.


On Friday morning and afternoon inside the arena, many families and groups rested and talked about their experiences. Volunteers roamed the floor with vendor trays full of snacks. Air-conditioning was on. A medical clinic, staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses, was operating, dispersing medications and helping evacuees deal with dehydration.

"This is far beyond what anyone could imagine," said Gregory Ryan, an evacuee from Kenner who arrived at the arena at 12:30 a.m. Thursday. When a young mother on a nearby bed asked him to watch her sleeping baby for a moment as she momentarily left the arena floor, he responded quickly, "Absolutely. Go ahead," and confided he didn't know her name. "That's how you get along here. Mind your own business and you help each other."

On Wednesday evening, Ryan and 10 others left their apartment complex. "At its worst, the lower floor was flooded with four feet of water. When water receded, all 11 packed into a pickup truck and a taxi cab and drove to Shreveport.

Expressing thanks to local volunteers, Ryan said he has received back pain medication, fresh clothes, a bed, food and everything he needs to be comfortable and feel safe in the shelter.

But he's concerned about the mounting psychological struggle.

"The shock is coming in. Faced it today," he said.

He's also eager to find local work as a press operator, a job he's held for 22 years.

Sam Medica, a local mental health counselor, and Mark E. Dulle, a clinical psychologist, sat at a table in the hallway surrounding the arena. They were there to offer evacuees on-site counseling and help people already getting assistance from the state's mental health system find local services.

"I think we are meeting the need of the people coming forward," Dulle said, but added more people on the arena floor have yet to ask for help.

He anticipated more evacuees facing struggle. "What I expect is the grief and the anger in the next couple of days. They'll be angry and probably will not know where to direct their anger."

Steve Beyer, a pastor from First Assembly of God, is the shelter's facility manager. He coordinates all efforts being made there. On Friday he estimated the shelter was housing 1,000 evacuees.

He agreed current needs were being met effectively, crediting the teams of police, doctors, nurses and 150 to 200 volunteers on site. "I give them an A-plus."

But Beyer said the level of need will increase. "We can always use more volunteers, obviously, especially between 10 (p.m.) and 10 o'clock in the morning."

He said they will have continued needs for specific food items, including milk. But raising more money is a bigger concern. His church has set up a relief fund, which has largely funded operations at the shelter to date, but he anticipated soon asking for financial assistance from the American Red Cross and other sources.

"Enthusiasm is running a little bit lower as far as these donations. Large organizations donate meals and all that," he said. "It (would be) better if I could have larger organizations donate some money."

Beyer said the shelter is sustainable and added they could possibly add 500 more beds if another building on the Fair Grounds was made available. "I believe we can maintain," he said. "It's adequate for what we're doing right now."

Some evacuees focused on arranging stays with relatives or trying to find temporary housing. On Sunday, Carl Loston and his wife, Lynette, drove a car out of the 8th Ward of New Orleans. They brought their 7-month-old daughter, Loston's brother-in-law, his wife, and their two kids, ages 5 and 6. The six arrived in Shreveport on Monday.

Loston said they left most of their money and belongings at their home on the city's east side. He said everything left behind is gone. He also feared his nearby employer, a bread-making company, was wiped out by flooding.

The six are making do with three inflatable beds, stacks of donated clothing, three meals a day and ample toiletries. But Loston is frustrated by not being able to find housing or local work.

"If I could just get a loan and get in my house, I can get back on my feet and pay the money back," he said.

He's also worrying about his baby daughter's health. She's asthmatic.

"We need to keep her clean," he said while pointing out the many young kids staying at the shelter. "You know how germs just fly around. I don't want her to end up sick. ... I don't want my baby dying or nothing happening to her."

Lynette Loston said health workers routinely patrol the arena floor and check up on them. She also agreed conditions on the floor were sanitary, and said they are required to change diapers in a designated area away the arena floor.

"It's not that they're not doing everything they can," she said, while feeding Jasmine with a bottle.

Diana Sumpter, who is coordinating efforts to provide information about social services at the shelter, said they are compiling lists of missing people and lists of those seeking jobs and housing. Her biggest challenge was securing transportation for evacuees to go to Social Security offices.

She also noted the shelter does not have Internet access, which is essential. She is busy searching for a local facility that could offer evacuees online access. "We need a bank of computers so they can register with FEMA."