Tennessee 211

2-1-1 In the News

The Tennessean
November 09, 2005

Local agencies help 100 new Katrina families make homes here

By CARA WALSH
Staff Writer

Nashville is about to welcome more than 100 new hurricane evacuee families.

Nearly three months after the first hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast, shelters in Houston and Baton Rouge are still overflowing with victims who lost nearly everything in the disasters. Four agencies here are working together to permanently relocate some of those families to the Nashville area.

"Some cities took in more evacuees than they could manage," said Jennifer Cole, spokeswoman for Hands on Nashville, one of the groups helping with the relocation efforts. Her organization is working with United Way 2-1-1, Catholic Charities and the Mid-Cumberland Community Services Agency to find housing for the families within the next few weeks.

The agencies aren't looking for money or direct donations, said Catholic Charities' executive director, Bill Sinclair. Most of that will come through special grants. Instead, they are looking for about 200 volunteer groups to adopt these incoming families as well as families already in the Midstate who are still looking for permanent housing.

Groups would help provide families with minimal living necessities, such as bed linens, a dining room table, cooking utensils and toiletries.

"Many apartments don't have ceiling lights," Sinclair said. "So each family would also need a lamp."

Volunteers would also give evacuees one more thing — emotional support. When people first fled for their lives, they assumed they would go home. Now time has proved otherwise. Such emotional problems usually don't surface until about two to four months after a tragedy, Sinclair said.

"Sponsoring groups could help these families make it through," he said.

Nine weeks after the hurricanes hit, Sinclair said he knows it may be harder to find volunteers. The irony is that volunteers are needed now even more than in the first few weeks following the tragedy.

"The paradox is, you can't use a lot of volunteers in the first couple weeks because it's hard to organize that soon," Sinclair said. "But people's hearts are moved at the time of the tragedy. Nine weeks later, two things happen. People begin to realize they aren't going home, and enthusiastic volunteers lose interest."

There are more than 192,000 people still living in hotel rooms in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, Sinclair said. In Middle Tennessee, the last shelter closed Oct. 12. But Sinclair estimated that nearly 1,000 of the 3,000 evacuee families in Tennessee are still without permanent housing. They won't be pushed aside to help the additional 100 families.

In fact, volunteer groups would be helping out with both local evacuee families and new families being brought in from the Gulf Coast. The new families will be brought here on buses, with money raised through grants.

Nashville was tapped to house the new evacuees because of the area's experience with foreign refugees, Cole said.

"Catholic Charities is one of the top 10 resettlement organizations throughout the world," she said. Nashville "has the resettlement expertise of not just finding housing, but also job coaching, and finding places for their children."

From a mental health standpoint, the area is a good place for evacuees, Red Cross mental health expert Miriam McFadden said.

"Everything I've heard is that people feel that they have been welcomed here," she said. "They are feeling a part of things and beginning to develop a familiarity with the area they live in, finding schools for their children, and suitable housing."

But she said that doesn't mean it's easy to leave home. "They're all dealing with displacement. If you begin to think along those lines, you're being taken away from everything that is familiar to you. Familiarity provides security, so they begin to deal with issues of security, loneliness, loss.

"It's not only where they sleep at night. It's friends. It's rock walls. Homes are a lot of different things to different people. It can be a building, or it can be a place in one's heart."

Local schools will be able to deal with the additional number of students because the students tend to be scattered across a large number of schools, said Catherine Knowles, who oversees the program for families in transition at Metro public schools.

Coping with a new life here will be far more difficult than just finding a new school.

"For many families, the issues are just now coming out," Knowles said. "They're just realizing they're not going to be able to return."

SIDEBAR:

How to help

If you would like more information about the latest effort to relocate Katrina evacuees in the Nashville area:

• Call United Way 2-1-1 to find out how you can help hurricane evacuees. Any type of group can volunteer to help evacuees.

• If you are an evacuee in need of housing help, call MCCSA for assistance. Locally, call 333-5460; toll-free call 1-866-355-9315; or register online at www.mccsa.com.

In addition, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati is holding a 10 a.m. workshop today for nonprofits, housing agencies and member institutions on creating permanent housing for Katrina evacuees in the Nashville area.

The workshop will provide information on how to apply for money from the $15 million recovery fund. The workshop will be held at the Marriott Cool Springs, 700 Cool Springs Blvd., Franklin. Call 513-852-7085 for more information.

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	2-1-1 In the News The Tennessean November 09, 2005 Local agencies help 100 new Katrina families make homes here By CARA WALSH Staff Writer Nashville is about to welcome more than 100 new hurricane evacuee families. Nearly three months after the first hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast, shelters in Houston and Baton Rouge are still overflowing with victims who lost nearly everything in the disasters. Four agencies here are working together to permanently relocate some of those families to the Nashville area. "Some cities took in more evacuees than they could manage," said Jennifer Cole, spokeswoman for Hands on Nashville, one of the groups helping with the relocation efforts. Her organization is working with United Way 2-1-1, Catholic Charities and the Mid-Cumberland Community Services Agency to find housing for the families within the next few weeks. The agencies aren't looking for money or direct donations, said Catholic Charities' executive director, Bill Sinclair. Most of that will come through special grants. Instead, they are looking for about 200 volunteer groups to adopt these incoming families as well as families already in the Midstate who are still looking for permanent housing. Groups would help provide families with minimal living necessities, such as bed linens, a dining room table, cooking utensils and toiletries. "Many apartments don't have ceiling lights," Sinclair said. "So each family would also need a lamp." Volunteers would also give evacuees one more thing — emotional support. When people first fled for their lives, they assumed they would go home. Now time has proved otherwise. Such emotional problems usually don't surface until about two to four months after a tragedy, Sinclair said. "Sponsoring groups could help these families make it through," he said. Nine weeks after the hurricanes hit, Sinclair said he knows it may be harder to find volunteers. The irony is that volunteers are needed now even more than in the first few weeks following the tragedy. "The paradox is, you can't use a lot of volunteers in the first couple weeks because it's hard to organize that soon," Sinclair said. "But people's hearts are moved at the time of the tragedy. Nine weeks later, two things happen. People begin to realize they aren't going home, and enthusiastic volunteers lose interest." There are more than 192,000 people still living in hotel rooms in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, Sinclair said. In Middle Tennessee, the last shelter closed Oct. 12. But Sinclair estimated that nearly 1,000 of the 3,000 evacuee families in Tennessee are still without permanent housing. They won't be pushed aside to help the additional 100 families. In fact, volunteer groups would be helping out with both local evacuee families and new families being brought in from the Gulf Coast. The new families will be brought here on buses, with money raised through grants. Nashville was tapped to house the new evacuees because of the area's experience with foreign refugees, Cole said. "Catholic Charities is one of the top 10 resettlement organizations throughout the world," she said. Nashville "has the resettlement expertise of not just finding housing, but also job coaching, and finding places for their children." From a mental health standpoint, the area is a good place for evacuees, Red Cross mental health expert Miriam McFadden said. "Everything I've heard is that people feel that they have been welcomed here," she said. "They are feeling a part of things and beginning to develop a familiarity with the area they live in, finding schools for their children, and suitable housing." But she said that doesn't mean it's easy to leave home. "They're all dealing with displacement. If you begin to think along those lines, you're being taken away from everything that is familiar to you. Familiarity provides security, so they begin to deal with issues of security, loneliness, loss. "It's not only where they sleep at night. It's friends. It's rock walls. Homes are a lot of different things to different people. It can be a building, or it can be a place in one's heart." Local schools will be able to deal with the additional number of students because the students tend to be scattered across a large number of schools, said Catherine Knowles, who oversees the program for families in transition at Metro public schools. Coping with a new life here will be far more difficult than just finding a new school. "For many families, the issues are just now coming out," Knowles said. "They're just realizing they're not going to be able to return." SIDEBAR: How to help If you would like more information about the latest effort to relocate Katrina evacuees in the Nashville area: • Call United Way 2-1-1 to find out how you can help hurricane evacuees. Any type of group can volunteer to help evacuees. • If you are an evacuee in need of housing help, call MCCSA for assistance. Locally, call 333-5460; toll-free call 1-866-355-9315; or register online at www.mccsa.com. In addition, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati is holding a 10 a.m. workshop today for nonprofits, housing agencies and member institutions on creating permanent housing for Katrina evacuees in the Nashville area. The workshop will provide information on how to apply for money from the $15 million recovery fund. The workshop will be held at the Marriott Cool Springs, 700 Cool Springs Blvd., Franklin. Call 513-852-7085 for more information. top