AAS article detailing Texas's help efforts

[Dora]

I'm posting the entire article here - I consider it fair use in a time of national tragedy.

AUSTINITES: we have refugees at the Burger Center on 290. I'm taking baby clothes, some of my husbands jeans, and whatever shoes I can spare tonight.

Texas opens its arms to Katrina's victims
Astrodome becomes a shelter; schools begin enrolling refugees
By Katie Humphrey

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Thousands of people forced out of their homes by Hurricane Katrina are finding refuge in Texas, staying in hotels, emergency shelters and even park campgrounds.

Gov. Rick Perry opened the Houston Astrodome today to the 23,000 refugees who have been housed at the storm-battered New Orleans Superdome, the Big Easy's shelter of last resort for residents who couldn't get out of the city.

But as Katrina tore through the low-lying city, she ripped a hole in the stadium's roof, knocked out power and forced the refugees to seek shelter elsewhere. The first of nearly 500 buses left New Orleans earlier today.

Texas has opened 17 emergency shelters for refugees statewide, primarily in the southern and eastern parts of the state. More than 3,200 people poured into them earlier today, including more than 1,000 at Ford Park, a sports and entertainment complex in Beaumont. The Samuel Grant Recreation Center in Dallas was filled to its 235-person capacity, and six churches in Orange reported they had reached their limit of nearly 1,000 people.

In Austin, the first refugees began arriving today at a Red Cross emergency shelter set up at the Burger Center on U.S. 290.

Thirty-eight other shelters around the state are on stand-by.

"As people currently taking refuge in hotels begin to run short on resources, we expect there will be a growing need for shelters beyond the many we have identified and opened to this date, so we will continue to pursue contingency arrangements," Perry said in a statement. "In the face of such tragic circumstances, we all have to pull together so these families have as much normalcy as possible during these difficult times."

Hotels along evacuation routes, especially Interstate 10 going through Houston, have quickly filled up, compelling those displaced to move on to Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, said Pat Miller of the Texas Hotels and Lodging Association.

Others have set up camp in Texas Parks, where people who have been displaced by Katrina are allowed to camp for free.

"It's got clean water and a hot shower," said Walt Dabney, state park director with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. "They can fish for free in the state parks. It's not what they'd like to be doing, but it's certainly better than being on the roadside."

State Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley notified school districts Wednesday that families who have temporarily relocated to Texas generally meet the definition of "homeless," which entitles them under federal law to enroll in the district in which they are physically present without having to document residency.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is temporarily waiving normal immunization requirements for the displaced students.

"We will do everything we can to welcome these students and return some form of stability to the lives of these youngsters," Neeley said.

Austin school officials said they will provide transportation between the Burger Center and schools for displaced children. The district is also providing food to the families through the cafeteria at nearby Sunset Valley Elementary School. The Red Cross will deliver the food to the shelter and reimburse the district for expenses.

In the Leander school district, two students whose families fled the hurricane are already enrolled in elementary school, and district officials said they fielded another dozen calls from families who were looking for schools to enroll their children.

"I think many of them want a short-term place for their kids not to fall behind," said district spokesman Bill Britcher.

The 21 Catholic schools in the Austin Diocese, which includes schools in Austin, Bryan, Georgetown, Granger, Killeen, La Grange, Taylor, Temple, Waco and West, also announced they will open their doors to Catholic students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.