City and county officials said they hoped to close the shelters at Reliant Park and the George R. Brown Convention Center by September 17, which currently house nearly 5,000 people.

FEMA chartered three cruise ships from Carnival—two to be docked in Galveston and one in Mobile, Alabama. They were to be crewed by Carnival employees for six months. Each ship that arrived in Galveston September 5 has a capacity to board 2,600 people.

“There is nothing that you can get done on a cruise ship out in the middle of the ocean when everything is going on here in the city,” stated Nathan Smith, 49, a maintenance engineer from New Orleans. “A lot of people were very uneasy and did not want to be put on a cruise ship because they thought that they would be denied access to benefits from agencies that could have helped them with housing, clothing, and basic necessities.” Marcunes Newels, 49, added, “And we’re tired of seeing water!” a sentiment echoed by many.

After a week of being cajoled by federal officials not one person agreed to board the ships. Officials say they never expected such resistance. By September 7 the offer was withdrawn.

Both FEMA and the Red Cross announced schemes to distribute debit cards to evacuees ostensibly to help people find their own housing. FEMA’s card was supposed to have a credit limit of $2,000, while those issued by the Red Cross ranged from $360 to $1,600, depending on the size of the family the card was issued to.

People waited in mile-long lines September 9 to get a card. As the lines grew the police decided to lock down the shelters. The next day FEMA suspended the program, announcing they will instead offer checks or direct deposit.

With many apartments in Houston going for $500-$600 a month, the cards are barely enough to cover first month’s rent, deposit, and utilities. Meanwhile, those at the shelters are receiving little help to find jobs and establish themselves in the area. Eugene Stokes, 40, a hotel janitor, emphasized, “We’re not getting meaningful information. We have to find out everything from each other.”

Many workers turn to each other for help. Robert Gordon, 50, a contractor, found his family in Lafayette, Louisiana, after searching for them for nine days. As he was leaving the shelter, he turned to a worker he met to exchange numbers saying, “I’ll have a lot of work when I get there, I know I can get you work.”

Velma Mayeux explained, “I’m ready to get out of [the shelter]. I want a home-cooked meal in my own home here in Houston.” All three of her children are attending public school here along with several thousand other students from the devastated Gulf Coast.

In a related development, the director of the University Interscholastic League, which oversees high school sports in Texas, warned that Texas high school coaches scouring shelters in search of football standouts from Louisiana would be treated like “looters.” The director, Charles Breithaupt, said he had received several calls regarding aggressive recruitment by coaches, including contacting potential players at shelters.
 
 
Related articles:
Democrats, Republicans cover up responsibility for Gulf Coast disaster
Working people take own initiatives to confront social catastrophe
New Orleans: workers explain their resistance to evacuation by cops, troops
U.S. gov’t snubs Cuba’s offer to send doctors to Gulf Coast
How workers in battle transform themselves
Working-class response to Gulf Coast disaster
How cops obstructed evacuation
Shelters: shoddy conditions for evacuees
Workers displaced by Katrina seek union jobs  
 
 
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