Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Top needs are cash, shelterBy CAL BEVERLY Give money, not food, not clothes, to help refugees from Hurricane Katrina, urged Fayette County Department of Public Safety Director Jack Krakeel Thursday night at a town hall meeting in Fayetteville. As local government agencies began to gear up for an expected surge of displaced Gulf Coast residents, Krakeel said the main thing refugees need right now is cash for the basic necessities of life. Dozens of refugees have arrived in Fayette and many more are expected, Chief Krakeel said. The lead agency locally is the Fayette County Department of Family and Childrens Services (DFCS, the acronym pronounced dee-fax), Krakeel said. Already, DFCS has run out of money to help a vanguard of about 42 families who escaped the hurricanes devastation, Krakeel and other officials told about 130 citizens who turned out at a hastily called meeting Sept. 1 at the Fayette County Library. DFCS official Dee House said the agency was giving out Wal-Mart gift cards in $25 denominations to assist the first wave of evacuees, many of whom left their homes before the hurricane struck with little money and no provisions beyond the first few days. It takes about three to five days after applying before a refugee can receive a food stamp debit card, House said. Its that period between first applying and first receiving a state card that represents the greatest need for private and church help, she said. And that need is cash. Make checks out to the Fayette County Department of Family and Childrens Services and note the gift is for Katrina refugees, she said. They need clothes, jobs, House said. [Many] are intending to stay here because they have nothing to go back to. She described one local residents two-bedroom apartment housing 29 people, most of them relatives from the coast. Call DFCS at 770-460-2555 for information on how you can help. The office is open weekdays at 905 Ga. Highway 85 South. Going south from downtown Fayetteville, the DFCS office is the second driveway to the right just past the traffic light at Hwy. 85 and Ramah Road, after the Kroger Town Center shopping center. An official of Fayette Samaritans, a local food bank and charity, said the organization had been helping upwards of 300 newly arrived people referred by a church. The Samaritans are running low on many food items, particularly baby formula, she said. This is uncharted territory, Red Cross volunteer and Fayette resident George Knight told the assembly. Shelters for groups of several hundred refugees have been set up in the metro area, but none in Fayette, he said. Knight urged local churches to resist the urge to set up ad hoc private shelters, mainly because the Red Cross doesnt have the staff to help, and such shelters must follow many state regulations. The Red Cross is seeking volunteers to go through a shelter training class. Call 404-870-4425 for information. Fayette schools have already begun enrolling refugee students, waiving many immunization requirements and cutting through the paperwork, a school official said. Free lunch signups are being expedited and school supplies donated, the official said. Already about 20 children from the affected areas are attending classes, Krakeel said. Were trying to bring structure and organization to this effort, Krakeel said. He said the agencies are expecting that evacuees will need temporary housing, prescription medications and banking services. Krakeel urged people not to self-volunteer and not to drive into the disaster areas. Dont try to go down there on your own, he said, adding that well-intended self-volunteers would find themselves in austere, even primitive, conditions with no guarantees of help for many weeks, no fuel supplies, no water, no food and no communications. Information about local relief efforts will be available through the local media, on the countys Web site and on local government cable channels, Krakeel said. Fayette County is going to be a community of example for responding to refugees needs, Krakeel said. The Citizen will post news affecting local residents about relief efforts and fuel shortages at www.TheCitizenNews.com. |
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