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DFCS helps 220 families; schools enroll 155 kids

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizen.com

About 220 families who have fled areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina have registered with the Fayette County Department of Family and Children Services.

The community has responded in full force to help meet the needs of those 600-plus people, many of whom settled here with friends or family, facing an extended stay. Fayette County Schools have registered 155 students who are now living here due to the hurricane damage, officials said.

Peachtree City First Baptist Church refurbished 12 apartments it now owns, and some 60 Katrina refugees will live there rent-free and utility-free until January.

Brooks United Methodist Church has “adopted” six families who were provided with apartments in McDonough thanks to The Knight Group, said Becky Smith of Fayette FACTOR, who has been working on housing issues for Katrina victims.

The church will help set up the families with utilities and furniture and is helping them search for jobs. Woolsey Baptist Church and Harp’s Crossing Baptist Church are doing similar ventures for Katrina families, Smith said.

Peachtree City United Methodist Church opened a temporary store at its campus on Windgate Road where hurricane victims could shop for clothes, for free, of course.

Smith said she thought each and every church in the county was doing something to help Katrina victims. In addition to the faith community, other organizations and individuals have stepped forward to help, Smith said.

“Everybody is just working and pulling together to help,” Smith said, adding that the experience has been “rewarding.”

Smith said she’s had about 60 people either offer their second homes or their primary residences to share with hurricane victims. The first priority is helping get those with medical difficulties and other special needs taken care of, she added.

Next is figuring out what assistance is needed for victims long-term, including job assistance, Smith said.

DFCS workers have put in long hours registering Katrina victims and lining them up with local assistance programs, said Pete Nelms, vice chairman of the local DFCS board. They worked continuously through the entire Labor Day weekend, extending the office hours and working on the holiday to help victims, Nelms said.

“What a wonderful, wonderful job they have done through all of this,” Nelms said. “I think I can speak for the board and say we’re all proud of what they’ve done to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.”

Nelms also cited the “outpouring of support” from local churches and others. Without that help, none of the support for hurricane victims would have been possible, Nelms added.

“They took some people who had nothing, and fed them and clothed them and got them where they needed to go,” Nelms said.

Although general plans were long in place to provide shelter for victims in an emergency situation, no one predicted the county would end up with 600 or 700 people “coming to our community and looking for help” as Katrina victims have, Nelms said.

“We’ll do what we can to help them because that’s what we’re here for,” Nelms said. “It’s been a real community effort.”

That effort has involved organizations such as the Fayette Samaritans and Real Life Services of Tyrone, which is affiliated with Dogwood Church. Real Life Services has provided clothing, toiletries, food and even job placement assistance for Katrina victims.

“There’s a lot of help out there,” Smith said.