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Fayette DFCS overflows with evacuees

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizen.com

Offices of the Fayette County Department of Family and Children Services were standing room only Tuesday morning as families who have come to Fayette from areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina continued to pour in seeking help.

Officials are pleading for help from local businesses, churches and individuals, with a particular need for gift cards, gift certificates and money which are distributed to families to help them buy food, clothing and medicine.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, 181 families totaling 430 people had been helped by DFCS, which is the main service agency assisting residents displaced by the hurricane ravaged areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Only three of the families are staying in hotels; others are staying with friends and family, said Allen McCullough of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

There is no indication how long many of the refugees will be here, officials said, as many areas could be out of electrical service and other utilities for weeks or months, officials said.

Tuesday afternoon, DFCS was running out of gift cards and money, with less than $1,000 total on hand and many folks waiting to be registered.

“We are going to have a need for continued financial support,” McCullough said. He encouraged local businesses, churches and individuals to continue helping DFCS officials with gift cards and the like.

Although the Red Cross needs money for its relief operations, the money is desperately needed locally also, McCullough said.

There are also more refugees living here who haven’t registered yet, McCullough said.

“We just don’t know when that will level off,” McCullough said.

A man in the Fayette DFCS office Tuesday morning, who fled from Louisiana but did not want to be identified, summed up his situation thusly: “I have my car. I have my daughter. I have my cat.”

Two other women who fled areas devastated by Katrina said they wanted to thank Fayette County residents for their support. They declined to tell their story of the destruction, saying “It’s just too soon.”

Fayette DFCS workers have handed out more than $22,025 in gift cards to help families. McCullough said. More gift cards and certificates are needed continuously and can be dropped off at the DFCS offices in Fayetteville off Ga. Highway 85 South, just south of the Towne Center (Kroger) shopping center.

“Any cash and gift certificates would be greatly appreciated,” McCullough said.

Food and clothing are also needed, but can’t be handled by DFCS, McCullough said.

“Don’t take food and clothing to DFCS; they don’t have a place to store it,” McCullough said. “Take food to Fayette Samaritans and clothes to local thrift shops. DFCS is referring people to thrift stores for clothing.”

There is a possibility that another shelter for hurricane victims will be opened up nearby, McCullough said. With that in mind, classes for volunteer shelters are being offered twice a day at the Red Cross facility on Monroe Drive in Atlanta. To register, call 404-870-4425.

There are no plans to open a shelter here, McCullough said.

Some of the victims staying here have severe medical problems, such as dialysis needs and children with congenital anomalies, McCullough said. Others came here with little more than the clothes they were wearing, he added.

“Your heart just goes out for them,” McCullough said.

Dr. Vicky Schuh of Peachtree Immediate Care and her staff have worked around the clock to take care of hurricane victims, helping evaluate them and making sure their prescriptions are refilled, which sometimes has involved identifying pills not in their original containers, McCullough said. Schuh has been networking with other physicians to provide help also, he added.

“Basically they have been doing this for free,” McCullough said of Peachtree Immediate Care. The idea is to keep from overburdening the emergency room at Piedmont Fayette Hospital next door, he added.

Fayette’s faith community has done an outstanding job of answering the pleas for help, McCullough said, citing in particular the Rev. John Weber of Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church in Peachtree City, the Rev. Mark Westmoreland of Fayetteville First United Methodist Church and Pastor Jerry Garner of Antioch Baptist Church.

“They really helped tremendously to pull together in a short amount of time,” McCullough said.

Chick-fil-A donated meals for DFCS employees Monday so they didn’t have to leave the office for lunch, McCullough said. The workers are in a stressful situation and are doing the best they can to help, he added.

In addition to donated items and gift cards/certificates, Fayette residents can also donate to the American Red Cross, which has opened hundreds of shelters for hurricane victims, McCullough said. But the Red Cross is so taxed at this point that Fayette’s relief efforts need to be self-sustaining, McCullough said.

Although Fayette doesn’t face the physical devastation from Hurricane Katrina and there are no visual reminders of the storm, it still will play a role locally, McCullough added.

“We just can’t see the devastation,” McCullough said.

Some who fled Katrina will eventually be able to return home, while others will ultimately relocate in the Atlanta area, McCullough said.

“We know there are going to be some long-term issues,” McCullough said.

The Fayette County Development Authority and Chamber of Commerce will work to assist Katrina victims here who need work, McCullough said.

For now, though, the focus is on helping families through the transition period, making sure their short-term needs for food, shelter and clothing are met, McCullough added.

Local residents are also urged to keep their eye out for blood drives that will increase in frequency, so they can donate and help buttress the area’s available blood supply, McCullough said.

Citizens are urged not to go to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina unless they are part of an authorized relief agency such as the Red Cross or the Salvation Army, McCullough said. Doing so could cause more problems and hinder emergency response, he added.