Exchange team member Kay Albrecht has been volunteering at the Astrodome in
Houston. Click here to read her moving day by day reports.
I was at the Astrodome today. As of now, here is what I saw that is still desperately
needed. If you can get the word out, that would be great.
- Kids shoes and socks and underwear - many children have bare feet or
are in flip-flops. The sanitation at the Dome is deteriorating and we need
to get children's feel covered.
- Extra large women's clothes - 3x or 4x, particularly underwear
- Children's books, play dough, puzzles, crayons, paper - most of the children
have nothing to do and there are no provisions for them at all. Diapers, formula,
etc are covered adequately.
Medical coverage is still inadequate. There was a period of time I was
pulled from psychological support to help sort people for medical triage.
I am not medically trained but for a while I helped sort people into cues based
on their stories.
Volunteers are still needed although I should warn you that what is needed
is physical labor and custodial predominately. You check in, get a wrist
bracelet, then get called to jobs - like sorting clothes, cleaning restrooms,
serving food, etc. Some of the work is outdoors and pretty hot.
Air-conditioning is totally inadequate so don't come if that is a health
threat. Roaming around reading books to children is an example of the
type of activity our folks could do readily and would be very much appreciated.
(Bring your own books). A crayon and a piece of paper may be the difference
between many more hours with nothing to do and something familiar (and maybe
even comforting) to do.
Also, don't believe the terrible stories that the media are reporting - I
saw no violence of any kind; people were patient, gracious, appreciative.
Although many are quite desperate and all have lost loved ones and homes, the
experience of helping was rewarding. Don't expect order, though,
there is no one in charge. You get your name badge and get sent to do something.
Everyone finds something to do to help. And, no one can do it for very long.
Plan on a four-hour shift - they are asking for 8-10 hours - but no one
is making it that long. Bring your own snacks. There isn't
food for volunteers. There is plenty to drink. Kleenex is another
important resource. Bring plenty, you will need it.
Thought this might be helpful to others who want to help. There are other places
that may need help as well. The convention center is open, so is the Astrohall
and Reliant Center. There is still room to make a difference. If you know
of organizations, churches, or groups that want to help, this is current data - and
I will update you again - I am going back again for another shift.
Today was a bit calmer than yesterday - I was pulled from the Astrodome
to the Astro Arena where the bigger medical and psychological clinics were set
up. There are so many wonderful people trying to be helpful. Some
of them were actually succeeding. Food was plentiful, although not very
appetizing; water and drinks everywhere and today they were actually on ice
and cold. The arena has air-conditioning, unlike the dome so it is somewhat
more comfortable. I saw one young man in his early 20's staffing
a water station when I arrived and he was still there when I left 7 hours later.
My day was spent mostly with the elderly - again, not my specialty.
Now that the medical emergencies and crises are abating, it is becoming clear
how many people were just put on buses. We worked today to identify dementia
patients and quiet people who have been shuffled to a cot and then overlooked.
The saddest one today was a stroke victim who was unable to feed himself, get
to the bathroom, or take his medicines since his arrival - and had just laid
there. The odor got our attention on the way to another patient and he
finally got help. We also found a blind man who had just laid down where they
left him on Thursday night. It seems impossible for this to happen with
so many people milling around - but it did. Unfortunately, there is no place
else to send people like this. After we got them showered and in new clothes,
they had to go back to their cots - social service placement is not available
yet and they don't require hospitalization. We were able to get him
on the list of people who need continuous volunteers assigned to them. I wish
I had confidence that someone was going to check on them. I managed to
get only 4 people through the mental health assessment and connected with the
support they needed - it doesn't feel like very much - but for those
four people I guess it mattered.
3,000 people, most families, were moved from the Astrodome to the Reliant Center
(convention center). New cots, clean floor, and more room, at least for
them. People in the dome have started moving cots to the upper levels,
finding ramps and places they can get a little privacy, and in general, setting
up household. Phone banks came in today and finally someone has started
adding names to a database so we can figure out who is here and reconnect people
who have been separated.
The situation with children is still grim. There was a place today for
children undergoing medical treatment to play on the concrete floor with a few
toys and a little play dough. For the remainder, there is still nothing
to speak of. The problem now, I believe, isn't resources; it is distribution
of what has been donated to those who need it. Today they began unloading
tractor-trailer loads of supplies, so at least the initial panic from lack of
water and no towels is over. I saw skids of children's socks, underwear,
and towels from Wal-Mart being unloaded and distributed.
They continue to call for volunteers; but I can tell you that more people isn't
the solution. Many volunteers are just wandering around, not knowing what
to do - some training is needed to know where to start and most of the evacuees
won't approach a volunteer - you have to go to them to find out what
their needs are. If you want to volunteer now, the best thing to do is
to contact a local charity that is staging volunteers into the area. The
area churches are committed to feeding 20,000 people a day and can use volunteers,
the food bank was overwhelmed with volunteers but still needed food donations,
and I am sure there are others that I am just not aware of. A simple need
many people still have is for writing materials to contact loved one.
One ironic and stupid announcement I heard today was that people with Louisiana
driver's licenses could get into the symphony free. No one has identification - that
is part of the problem. They have the clothes that were on their backs
and nothing else. We all laughed.
Most of my conversations today were still about the location of loved ones
and how to reach them and when can they go home. The Houston Chronicle
delivered newspapers today but there were only enough for 200 people to read
so most people still have no idea of how bad things still are in Louisiana.
Maybe this is a blessing - if they were watching the news reports, I can't
imagine the despair.
Tomorrow, they are supposed to go to a scheduling system to balance how many
people are coming each hour. I asked when I should plan to arrive, the
answer was whenever you can - no one really believes tomorrow will be much
different from today. As I prepared to leave, because I was tired and hungry,
the buses started arriving again. I heard from an EMT technician that
all evacuees have to come through the Astrodome before they can go anywhere
else - although I just can't believe that is true. There is no
way they can handle much more. I stayed long enough to get the first bus
unloaded before my emotions got the best of me and I had to relinquish my assignment
to a fresh new volunteer to take over for the night. The last person I
helped off the bus was a blind man who was almost 80 who hadn't had insulin
in 5 days. He was carrying a long pipe that he used to find his way.
I almost got knocked in the head as he was settled into a wheel chair to go
to medical triage. I left him with a fresh shift of doctors that had just
come on. I hope he is all right.
Keep these brave people in your hearts and prayers
The situation here improves a little each day. I worked late yesterday - supposedly
4-8 pm but stayed until almost 2:00 am. The health crisis that was anticipated
has begun. Sick patients were quarantined starting yesterday and it appears
they will remain in quarantine until further notice. The lucky ones got
transported to hospitals and I think you can imagine the nightmare of caring
for people with diarrhea and vomiting with no bathroom facilities. My
job yesterday was to help with those who had to be quarantined and separated
from their loved ones. We worked it out so families could stay together rather
than be separated but this meant that for every sick person the medical staff
were dealing with we had additional people sharing the space. 97 were
sent to a hospital for isolation before the night was over.
Most people have been moved from the Astrohall into the Reliant Center.
If you are not from Houston, the Astrohall and Astrodome are old, closed facilities
that were reopened for this sheltering. The Reliant Center is the new convention
space and it is at least clean, has air conditioning, and can be monitored and
supervised. So, for most people, the physical conditions improved. Buses
took people to the mall, movie theatres, etc. yesterday - offering a break
from the monotony of waiting for the next meal and just sitting. Newspapers
and books have begun to appear. I saw a few card games in process.
Many people are still looking for loved ones and the database is finally on
line (although we crashed the internet connection system in Houston when it
went on line). We have now found almost all of the parents or family members
of lost and separated children and there were several reunions last night that
brought tears to my eyes.
The children's area finally got set up. I haven't been there
yet but today we are meeting to coordinate volunteers and go to a reservation
system to make sure we have enough volunteers when we need them. More
on this when I have the details.
The good news is the child care area is up and running - I heard someone
call it "guerilla" child care. It isn't much - a few
tables with toys, a few cots for sleepers, a changing table, and road barricade
dividers to section it off from the masses. What it does have is many wonderful
people willing to just play with children. Nothing organized yet, just
people and places to play on a hard concrete floor. Four wonderful volunteers
made it happen--they just pulled it together and have been staffing it.
Children can stay for 2 hours; criminal background checks are completed on volunteers,
and children are smiling as well as crying in this area.
They need volunteers. If you can do a 2-4 hour shift (or longer), go
to the volunteer desk, sign in, then come to the child care area in the Reliant
Center. You will still have to undergo the background check but will then
hold children, read to them, play with them, etc. Adults on the floor,
as hard and cold as it is, at children's eye level is what is needed.
Collaborative for Children has submitted a proposal to make it better.
We'll see if the command structure will respond to this.
I spent last night in quarantine again. We are beginning to see the mental
health problems we expected. I spent my time with sick people who are
finally feeling the weight of the experience and falling apart. I was
with Lillie off and on most of the night. She is a 30 something year old
who was in the convention center in New Orleans for 5 days without food or water.
She is sick. She has only one aunt who is also here. She is in quarantine
for the near term. No one who has been sick is yet allowed to return to
the general public because of the risk of epidemic spread. So, the Astroarena
has become a hospital ward. Lillie is vomiting and has diarrhea, and can't
stop crying. She hasn't slept since she arrived at the Astrodome
on Wednesday. After a psychiatric consult and a lot of listening and trying
to comfort her on my part, she her crying slowed and she dozed off. Her
story is so sad. She talked about the inhumanity done to each other in
the convention center - pushing people aside at the buses, separating children
from their families, threats, and her feeling of desperation. At one point,
in her hysteria, she looked at me and said "I will never pass (ignore)
a homeless person again - I'm homeless now - will people talk to me?"
My next shift starts soon. More later.
Hi, to everyone and many thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers.
Believe me, we all need them! I can keep going because all of you are
helping me find the energy and strength to return again tomorrow.
It is nice to be able to report that things are finally turning from absolute
chaos to organized chaos. The number of crises has diminished from constant
to intermittent. The hallways of the medical areas are down to 50-60 people
per hour waiting for attention, down from hundreds per hour. Crisis counseling
calls are also down although as crisis counselors begin to go to the floor rather
than have people brought into the clinic, we are really the number of people
who are in shock and traumatized growing. It is still not uncommon to find children
(and adults for that matter) stoically staring ahead without any response from
the constant noise and stimulation all around them. In another one of
those most incredible moments, two cruise ships arrived off the coast in Galveston
to take on 2000 people. Elderly over 60 and single mothers were offered the
first staterooms. So far, there are no takers - no one wants to be
on the water. That gives you some idea of the horror that was experienced.
A clean bed, your own room and bathroom, and gourmet food wasn't enough
to entice people to go where there was water all around them and many just can't
face another relocation.
The child play areas (there was one, now there are three - the latest one
set up late this afternoon in the quarantine area for children who are isolated)
are up and when I left today, all seemed to be functioning with donated toys
and makeshift materials. Kevin Carnes of Lakeshore Learning Materials
answered a frantic call for help and is sending a truckload of equipment to
help organize and improve these areas. Collaborative for Children has submitted
a proposal to try to move the children into self-contained space - which
would really help. Slowly but surely the organizational steps to change from
focusing on what we need right now to what we are going to need for the next
month are occurring.
Today, I increasingly saw children playing and laughing. They play with
the collection of second hand toys that have poured into the donation centers
from local residents and from around the country. Books are starting to
appear - one box from Exchange went with me as I did my work today.
Baggy kits from Memorial Drive Presbyterian were sent "home" with
children after their visit to the child play area.
The need now is to sustain the efforts that are underway. Specifically, if
you are in Houston, the need is to have knowledgeable, trained caregivers and
teachers to support the children who come to the play areas. To volunteer
for 2 1/2 to 5 hour blocks (two hour session then ½ hour clean up time),
go to Reliant Center, sign in (you will need picture ID), get a volunteer wristband
and ask to be sent to the child play area at Reliant Center. When you
arrive at the child play area, you will go through a background check before
you can enter the play area.
The need is for people to focus on a few children, get them busy, and play
with them. Getting children into sustained play where they can act and
feel "normal" is a break from shelter life and allows family members
to go fill out forms for assistance, housing, and other services. The main child
play area opens at 8:00 am, I think, and closes at 6:00 pm. They can use
about 15 people per hour so don't hesitate to go with a friend or colleague.
Bring with you a small stash of children's books, art paper, manipulatives
in a container, games, or art materials. Find a place on the cold concrete
floor (Kevin promises carpets on the truck!) and engage a few children. No purses - there
is just nowhere to put them. I hope to see many of you there.
Today was a bellwether day. We finally made some progress and have moved from
crisis management of the play area. We have put in place a 5-10 day interim
plan to manage and staff the play area until we can get a permanent space in
place or a plan working. The Houston AAEYC is adding a scheduling page to their
website so we can schedule volunteers to work directly with children in 3 hour
shifts. Shifts are from 8:30-11:30 am; 11:00 am-2:00 pm; 1:30-4:30 pm; and 4:00-7:00
pm. The Neuhaus Education Center is staffing a telephone hotline for people
to sign up who don't have access to a computer. There number is 713 664-7676.
If you are in Houston and work with young children, go on line or call now to
schedule volunteer time!
A small task force put together a management structure of tenured directors
and as'st directors. We are signing up floor managers (sort of an executive
director) and 5 assistant managers (for specific duties like volunteers, registration,
sanitation/safety, activities, and infant/toddler) for 6 hour overlapping shifts
8:30-2:00pm and 1:30-7:00 pm. Job descriptions were drawn up tonight and simple
directions sheets are almost ready to orient volunteers as we complete their
criminal background checks upon arrival. If you can volunteer to work with children,
go to www.haaeyc.org and sign up to volunteer (this should be up and operating
on Thursday by the end of the day). If you can volunteer as a manager, contact
me by email or leave a message at 281 974-7901. We are scheduling Sunday, September
11, 2005 through Friday, September 16, 2005 for now. Friday and Saturday are
already covered.
The Lakeshore shipment is tentatively scheduled to arrive on Friday afternoon.
So, as of Saturday, we will have at least the basic equipment we need to manage
and some area carpets to cover the concrete floor!
The overall situation has also stabilized further. Quarantine is still growing
as diarrhea spreads but the medical clinics are finally slowing down to a manageable
trickle and no one is talking about a public health crisis anymore. Reunions
of family member continue as the databases get larger. Many residents are beginning
to receive mail rerouted to Houston. Some have already found work, at least
for the short term. School registration began today for school-age children
and high school age children will actually start tomorrow in local schools.
The youngest and oldest are still the most underserved although there is now
a place for healthy elderly individuals to move to independent housing and nursing
home placement available for those less able. Last night was the first night
they closed all the facilities from 11:00 pm to 5:00 am—no one could enter
during these hours and some people slept for the first time in days. Medical
personnel finally have their own entrance so they don't have to walk ¾
of a mile to get to the main clinics. The parking lots are constantly being
re-divided as new services and resources arrive. All of these are signs that
the transition to a more stable situation is underway.
I am attaching to this note a blog from the other major shelter in Houston.
The comparison is almost surreal. The George R. Brown Convention Center took
in the last few busloads (and probably the most needy) and has only 3000-4000
people. It is managed by the city of Houston. The Red Cross manages the Reliant/Astrodome
area. The two sites sound like they are on different planets. Granted, they
had several extra days to prepare, the lessons learned in the first site to
benefit from, and only 4,000 people (instead of 25,000). Nevertheless, I am
wondering why we weren't better prepared and more able to do what needed
earlier. Someone pointed out to me that tomorrow it would be a week since we
started our work here. I can't believe it. What a week it has been!
Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers. Keep them up. They seem to
be working. I am still standing and many are joining in to help. That is wonderful
news for everyone.
There was good news and bad news today. The good news is that we have a volunteer
web page - on Houston aaeyc's website and a call center to take reservations.
We have staffed the program with managers for Friday and Saturday and are working
on the next 7 days. We have job descriptions and tip sheets for volunteers.
We have badges to identify managers and assistant managers. The shipment from
Lakeshore arrives in the morning at 10:00 am (drop them a thank you note if
you have a moment - Lakeshore Learning Materials, 2695 E. Dominguez St.,
Carson, CA 90895). We have put the word out that we will be reassembling the
child's play space tomorrow night with marvelous (I just know it) improvements
and efficiencies. It still won't be perfect but we will have made a lot
of progress.
The bad news is we can't keep the dignitaries from totally disrupting
our plans. Dick Cheney decided to drop by today and prevented any volunteers
from getting to the space all morning. More are scheduled for tomorrow. I wish
they would all go away and let us try to do our work. Today someone spread the
word that pulse cards with $2000.00 on them were available and there was almost
a mob. There were cards, but only 2000 of them for 25000 people. It didn’t
make the day easy.
The "institutionalization" of the community continues. Medical staff
finally have their own entrance. Some have moved on to better living spaces.
It is getting harder to get on the site - we never know when volunteers will
be turned away completely, without rhyme or reason.
You will see that it is 2:30 am in the morning so this will be brief. The fabulous
furniture, tables, chairs, manipulatives and much more arrived from Lakeshore
today. At closing time (7:00 pm) we dumped the junk we were using and set up
a beautiful over 5000 sq ft play space for children. Pictures are coming. The
change is so dramatic - it truly was amazing. The children were hanging around
the barricades begging to come in as we put the school together. By the end
of the evening, Houston ISD had agreed to send teachers to start prekindergarten
groups in this fabulous space (no prekindergarteners can be bused to schools)
and everyone who had seen it before and saw it after came by to comment.
I am exhausted and very proud of what we have done. Thanks to too many people
to even think of naming tonight, but a extra special thanks to Kevin Carnes
and Rick Lozano at Lakeshore and the fabulous volunteers who would do whatever
they were asked to do to make this thing happen.
More tears, this has been an emotional day. You should see the children's faces
- and that is before they have entered the barricades (doors).
