--LATEST UPDATE—

IMPORTANT LOCAL NEEDS

Immediate Need: In order to purchase and provide prescription medication to those who have come into our community that don't have insurance or Medicare, the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District and Family Practice Clinic are accepting cash donations to pay for these prescriptions. Checks can be mailed to: Waco Family Practice Clinic, 1600 Providence, Waco, Tx 76707.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR EVACUEES

The Temple HELP Center, located at 11 N. 2nd, Temple, TX, will stop processing new public assistance housing registration at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 28th.

The Temple HELP Center will permanently close processing activities for Katrina hurricane evacuees at 5:00 p.m. Friday, September 30th. Any evacuees still holding outstanding housing vouchers must have those processed by 3:00 p.m., Friday. After Friday’s date, Katrina evacuees may call 254.760.6842 for information for assistance.

The One Stop Shop, set up in the old Weiner’s store location, 1000 business 190, for processing assistance for Katrina evacuees in Killeen will stop processing new public assistance housing registration at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, September 28th.

The One Stop Shop will permanently close at 5:00 p.m. Friday, September 30th. Any Katrina evacuee still holding outstanding housing vouchers must have those processed by 3:00 p.m., Friday at the same location. After Friday’s date, Katrina evacuees may call 254.634.3745 for further information on assistance.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is urgently appealing for more Texas nurses to volunteer to relieve health care workers in special-needs shelters in East Texas. Those who want to volunteer should call the department at 1-800-942-5540. They may also volunteer through the Department of State Health Services Web Site.

LOCAL SHELTERS

WACO: Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management was directed to arrange for and set up a facility to shelter approximately 500 special needs patients that could arrive as early as 7:30pm Tuesday evening. When Waco was first contacted by the SOC (State Operations Center for Emergency Management) to establish shelters for Hurricane Rita evacuees last week, we identified additional buildings that could be quickly stood up as shelters if needed. Although we did not need the Old Wal-Mart building on Valley Mills Drive, the City advised the SOC of its availability. Within 3-4 hours City of Waco Staff and representatives of the Waco Medical Community were at the site preparing it to be a sanitizing hospital environment. Cleaning staff from both hospitals cleaned air ducts, stripped and sanitized the floors, shampooed the carpets. Electricians repaired light fixtures and Mechanical contractors and City Facilities staff placed eight of the ten air conditioning units in operation. City Staff transported the hundreds of leftover cots that were at the Convention Center to the Wal-Mart location. Salvation Army, Red Cross, Medical staff from Waco Public Health, MHMR, Family Practice, Providence and Hillcrest Hospitals were on site setting up and labeling various areas of the building for Registration, Triage, Cardiac, Diabetic, Dehydration, Mental and other types of specialty needs. East Texas Medical Center had 4-5 ambulances standing by to transport patients needing more advanced care to the hospitals. Store managers from all three Wal-Mart stores were on site responding to needs. By 9pm Tuesday the facility was ready to receive patients and a system of registering, triaging and receiving mass evacuees was in place. Shortly before midnight a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) and Tx DHS Nurses arrived. Shortly after midnight one bus with eleven people from Nacogdoches arrived and two busses from Beaumont arrived. Three were transported to the hospital, 10-12 others had misc. medical needs that were attended to by Doctors and nurses from Family Practice and local hospitals. As of this update, no new evacuees have arrived at the Wal-Mart Shelter.

As more areas of the impacted coastal area are reopened, the City continues to assist evacuees return to their homes. Many are relocating to facilities closer to their home. If an evacuee lived in one of the nine FEMA disaster area counties (Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, or Tyler) and is displaced from their home, those persons may be eligible to stay in a hotel room if they personally contact FEMA for authorization. As of this update all evacuees have left the Bledsoe-Miller Recreation Center special needs shelter. The Convention Center has 100.

Immediate Need: In order to purchase and provide prescription medication to those who have come into our community that don't have insurance or Medicare, the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District and Family Practice Clinic are accepting cash donations to pay for these prescriptions. Checks can be mailed to: Waco Family Practice Clinic, 1600 Providence, Waco, Tx 76707.

KILLEEN: Community Center sheltered 78 residents Monday

HURRICANE INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR RITA EVACUEES AND THOSE IN AFFECTED AREAS

Information On Disaster Unemployment Assistance From U.S. Department Of Labor

Consumers with complaints about price gouging should call the Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 252-8011 or file their complaints on the Attorney General’s Web Site.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has set up a toll-free number for Hurricane Rita evacuees to call and get information on road conditions. Gov. Rick Perry's office says the number is: 1-800-452-9292.

The state has opened a toll-free telephone hot line to help relatives of Hurricane Rita victims with medical problems locate those evacuated hospital and nursing home patients. The Department of State Health Services says people in Texas can call: 1-877-623-6274. The direct Austin number is: 512-458-7189. Agency officials say callers need the name, date of birth and gender of the patient.

The Texas Public Utility Commission asks Texans to keep phone calls into the impacted area to a minimum. The use of text messaging services to contact loved ones is encouraged whenever possible. Text messaging services will keep more voice lines available for emergency use. For more information, visit
Click Here For More Information

Families wanting to locate their loved ones may call the Red Cross’ toll-free hotline, 1-877-LOVED-1S (1-877-568-3317) or visit the Red Cross Web Site.

Texans evacuating from the storm’s path may call 2-1-1 or 1-888-312-4567 for evacuation and shelter information.

For more information about the state’s preparations click here.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: HURRICANE ASSISTANCE WEB SITES

Click Here For Department Of Health And Human Services Health Care Professional Hurricane Relief Volunteer Information And Application

Click Here For Letter Of Hope Web Site To Send Letters To Displaced Hurricane Survivors

Click Here For OneStar Foundation Web Site

Click Here For Habitat For Humanity Web Site

Click Here For Houston Katrina Fund Web Site

Click Here For Information On Disaster Relief Appeals From The Better Business Bureau

Click Here For Reports On National Charities From The Better Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance

Click Here For Charity Tips From FEMA

Click Here For American Red Cross Web Site

Click Here For Salvation Army Web Site

Click Here For Second Harvest Web Site

Click Here For Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund Raising Campaign Web Site

Click Here For Catholic Charities Web Site

Click Here For Lutheran Disaster Response Web Site
Click Here For Lutheran Social Services Of The South Web Site

Click Here For National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster Web Site

Click Here For Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Web Site

Click Here For United Methodist Committee On Relief

Click Here For Episcopal Relief & Development Web Site

Click Here For Information On Southern Baptist Relief Efforts

KATRINA/LOCAL SCHOOLS: According to the latest figures released by school officials, 346 displaced students had enrolled in Killeen schools, 67 had enrolled in Waco schools, 19 had enrolled in Temple schools, 26 had enrolled in Midway schools, one had enrolled at St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Waco, two had enrolled in Robinson schools, one had enrolled at Vanguard, two had enrolled in Reicher Catholic School in Waco, seven had enrolled at McLennan Community College and 25 undergraduates, one seminary student and five graduate students had enrolled at Baylor University.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has opened a temporary call center to help displaced students access their immunization records. DSHS has obtained direct access to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals statewide immunization registry. There's no charge for the service. For information, call: 1-800-252-9152.

KATRINA/WORKFORCE COMMISSION HELPS PROCESS ASSISTANCE CLAIMS

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is informing employers that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will not sanction employers for hiring workers displaced by Hurricane Katrina who are unable to provide Employment and Eligibility Verification (I-9) documentation normally required under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has created two toll-free hot lines, one to assist displaced Louisiana workers filing Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) claims and another to serve as a central number for employers who wish to hire people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Louisiana workers who have lost their jobs due to Hurricane Katrina may apply for DUA by calling 1-800-818-7811. This toll-free number is exclusively for use by displaced Louisiana workers. The best time to call for faster service is from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time. Claims takers will take calls from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time on weekdays. Due to an overwhelming response from employers offering jobs to storm victims, TWC has established a central toll-free number, 1-800-695-6879, to take calls from employers wishing to hire displaced Louisiana workers. The hotline is exclusively for employers wishing to hire displaced workers and will be staffed from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday

Click Here For Texas Work Force Commission Web Site

Click Here For Hurricane Relief Information From U.S. Department Of Labor

Evacuees who are in Central Texas mayvisit any of the Heart of Texas Workforce Centers
claim via the Internet at LAWORKS.net

Local Assistance Locations:
McLennan County
1416 S. New Road, Waco, TX 76711
254/754-5421
866/982-9226 Toll Free

Bosque County
702 S. Avenue G, Clifton, TX 76642
254/675-2024

Falls County
230 Coleman, Marlin, TX 76661
254/803-3277

Freestone County
517 Main, Teague, TX 75860
254/739-2887

Hill County
233 East Elm, Hillsboro, TX 76645
254/582-8588

Limestone County
507 East Yeague, Groesbeck, TX 76642
254/729-8775

Mission Waco
Meyer Center
1226 Washington Avenue, Waco, TX 76701
254/753-4900

PETS

The Humane Society of the U.S. been inundated with more than a thousand calls with requests to rescue pets who were left behind or perhaps denied entrance to the Superdome or other shelters. Individuals who learn of stranded pets are urged to call the HSUS call center at 1-800-HUMANE-1, provided they have location information that can be dispatched to the teams in the field.
Thousands of concerned citizens have donated to the relief effort by calling 1-800-HUMANE-1 or by visiting the Humane Society’s Web Site.

Resources for hurricane evacuees to house or find their pets:
1-800-HUMANE-1: Callers may alert rescuers of where their pets were last seen
Petfinder.Com Web Site to find a temporary shelter or register a description of a missing pet
1-888-ANIMALS: To become a foster family for an animal or to get help finding a lost pet

HURRICANE INFORMATION RESOURCES

Click Here For Department Of Defense Web Site Linking Evacuees and Military Families

Click Here For Texas Work Force Commission Web Site

Click Here For Hurricane Relief Information From U.S. Department Of Labor

Click Here For Texas Health And Human Services Commission Web Site

Click Here For Texas Education Agency Web Site

Click Here For GulfCoastPhotoFreeway.Com Missing Persons Web Site

Click Here For Katrina Shelter Web Site

Click Here For Missing Kids Web Site

Click Here For Hurricane Refugee Contact Web Site

Click Here For WWL-TV Survivors Web Forum

Click Here For Petfinder.Com to find temporary shelter for pets or to register description of missing pets

Click Here For Humane Society Of the United States Web Site

Click Here For National Hurricane Center Web Site

Click Here For National Weather Service Web Site

Click Here For Hydrologic Information Center For Information On River Flooding

Click Here For Federal Emergency Management Agency Web Site

Click Here For Texas Governor’s Web Site

Click Here For Texas Department Of Transportation Web Site

Click Here For Texas Department Of Public Safety Web Site

Click Here For Louisiana Homeland Security Web Site

Click Here For City Of New Orleans Web Site

Click Here For Louisiana Governor’s Web Site

Click Here For State Of Mississippi Web Site

Click Here For Mississippi Emergency Management Web Site

Click Here For Alabama Governor’s Web Site