I'm glad that you pointed out that not all the evacuees are welfare recipients. The first wave of people who came here to Central Louisiana arrived in their own vehicles, checked into hotels at their own expense, and generally spent the weekend before Katrina hit behaving like tourists. The first articles that came out of their arrival crowed about the boost of tourism dollars into our local economy. You couldn't get a table at many restaurants around Alexandria when these suburban professional families arrived.
Now, unfortunately, everything has turned 180 degrees, let alone upside-down. Today, many of these people stood in line at the Pentecostal headquarters in Alexandria for what was called the "Katrina Job Fair." Despite their circumstances, a substantial number of people came to booths sponsored by 50 Central Louisiana employers. While there were indeed some ragged-looking teens in t-shirts applying for fast-food jobs, there were mostly nicely-coiffed women and well-dressed men filling out applications. Despite losing it all, they've kept their pride and dignity as they rebuild their lives. The only downside to this is that their unanticipated presence in our community makes it harder than ever for local residents to compete for these same jobs. In fact, it was quite surprising that 50 employers with vacancies could even be rounded up under the circumstances.
Meanwhile, here's a story about evacuees who ended up in Dorchester, Massachusetts:
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/articles/2005/09/15/establishing_a_home_again_from_scratch/
Interesting quote:
''Everyone is focused on the evacuees, but no one is focused on people like these," says Mayor Thomas M. Menino, whose office is coordinating services for, among other displaced people, those Gulf State residents trickling into Boston without the knowledge or assistance of state officials.
"We have no sense of the numbers," the mayor says. ''They're not attached to any organization, and they're trying to start a new life for themselves, and they don't know where to go for help. They have to think about jobs. Educating their children. Health insurance. They come here without any identification or ability to make a living."
lsucat, I wish you and your family the very best of luck in getting your life back on track after Katrina!
It's all too sad to comprehend.