Posted on 09/06/2005 9:20:50 AM PDT by Osage Orange
Northeast Oklahoma relief team is stung by rejection
By Sheila Stogsdill
State Correspondent
MIAMI, OK - A Hurricane Katrina relief team from northeast Oklahoma was stunned when its offer to bus 10 single mothers and their children staying at Houston's Astrodome was rejected.
"I am stunned, but I am not giving up," said Dee Dee Cox, Woman Crisis Center director for Craig, Ottawa and Delaware counties.
Cox had spearheaded a hurricane relief project over Labor Day weekend to bring single mothers and children to live in women's shelters in Grove and Miami.
Cox arrived in Houston around 4:30 p.m. Sunday in a 55-passenger air-conditioned motor coach, filled with water, food and children's toys. Hours earlier, a four-member volunteer team had left Miami to take care of any loose ends and secure any special needs the women might have.
The women and children were to stay in security staffed women's shelters in Grove and Miami. Clothing and meals were to be provided as well as transportation back to New Orleans.
But when the time came to leave, the women changed their minds.
They didn't give a reason for not wanting to leave Houston, Cox said.
"We didn't know what to do. We wanted to make life easier for these people and the community has come together, rising to the occasion," said Earl Shero, Community Crisis Center board director.
While in Houston, the volunteer team heard countless gut-wrenching stories of pain and heartache.
One woman, identified as 53-year-old Gwendolyn, told Cindy Shero of sleeping outside the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
Shero said she comforted the crying woman and prayed with her as she told how thugs took over the dome, people were shot, children were raped and human waste was everywhere.
Gunfire was so constant that she and others would crawl on the ground to avoid being hit, Gwendolyn said.
When they learned no one was coming back to stay in the Grove or Miami shelters, Cox contacted the American Red Cross to offer room at the shelter for evacuees.
The communities already have collected many supplies for the evacuees.
Yesterday morning, Fox news reported that some evacuees refused to go to Utah, too, and demanded to be taken to someplace else. Oh well, good riddance.
The officials were planning to 'house' some 4,000 on cruise ships.
Per FoxNews this morning, that plan was put on hold because those in the Astrodome didn't want to move again.
LOL!!
It's only been a few days; I can understand people's being shocked and unable to make wise decisions.
Gee, hope that's good enough for some of these folks.
Stories will surface soon of what is really happening with the refugees that have been placed all over our city other than in the Domes and convention center.
A friend works in a motel that has kitchenettes called Extended stay. Her husband is security at the place,more than half of the motel is filled with the refugees and her husband has had to break up fights, some of the refugees had their door motel open and a young little 12 year old was walking by and the little girl was asked to come into their room, they are out asking people where they can buy illegal drugs. They have had to call the police several times for these different reasons and the manager finally got tired of it and kicked them out and took a bunch of new families, haven't heard yet if the new families are working out better.
The talking heads are only showing the Astrodome and reporting all seems orderly, but once you get out into the neighborhoods the stories are quite different. The manager of the motel mentioned said they would be contacting authorities about what is happening.
They couldn't find 10 in that whole crowd at the Astrodome who wanted to go? That's odd.
They're waiting for one-way tickets to California.
If you are from Utah and they refused you don't know how lucky you are. Utah is beautiful country, drove thru there on our way to Reno.
People don't like being moved around like cattle to places unfamiliar to them. This will take some time to sort thinfs out.
Scum.
That thought crossed my mind also.....
Maybe you are correct....although 10 women with children all coming to the same conclusion is puzzling.
FRegards,
Who's paying for all these luxury places they will be living in again??As a Conservative I am getting a wee bit concerned.
Nothing wrong with placing them on closed military bases.
Calling me names?
Or maybe Las Vegas witht e the nO police hwo'll be there vacationing.
Reminds me of the old saying: "Why do you hate me, I never tried to help you."
Nobody's wanting to leave Houston.
There are now 2 cruise ships in Galveston to house the evacuees setup at the dome but no takers.
Picky, picky, picky. This takes the cake
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