What can we do? evac..

[cp]

My understanding right now is that if you are not registered in the Superdome....you do not get in the Astrodome.....
How can we force Texas to accept all refugees no matter what?
give us some suggestions
this is uncompehensible.

I have family in Metarie that also needs out

[jopatura]

I believe all you have to do is prove you're from a displaced area. Although this could happen in the next few days because the Astrodome isn't as big as the Superdome and can't take as many people. The Ford Center in Beaumont is also opening up to take refugees, in case you're still looking.

[soonertwister]

Force Texas to take all refugees no matter what?

Houston, NOT Texas, has organized the shelter of up to 25,000 New Orleans residents out of their own sense of decency and compassion.

There are relief efforts in various stages of organization across the entire country, and even more from other countries.

Please, painting Texas with some sort of "meanie" tag because they haven't promised to house ALL refugees of a national disaster is not just not right, it's intensely NOT fair.

[jopatura]

They just opened up the Astrodome to the people standing outside who didn't come from the Superdome. People had been lining up outside and they've just been let in. The buses haven't arrived yet. So obviously, they're letting anyone from the area in.

[TXGale]

Hi,

The mayor of Houston was asked this same question in an interview on one of the news stations. From what I understand they do not want to pack the Dome. THey want people to be as comfortable as possible and if they were to crowd the dome with more then the 25,000 they are accepting, then they feel it would not be the best living conditions for them.

Houston is however opening more shelters so that more people can be accommodated. Here is a list from one of the local news stations (KHOU) of other shelters open right now. I expect there will be more opening tomorrow

Hope this helps and best of luck to you and your family. Our prayers are with you.

----------

Shelter locations as of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday



Mont Belvieu Senior Center: 11607 Eagle Drive, Mont Belvieu (full - 112)

Baytown Community Center: 2407 Market Street, Baytown (full – 250)

Memorial Baptist Church: 600 W. Sterling, Baytown (full – 135)

Lee College Gym: 200 Lee Drive, Baytown

Missouri Street Church of Christ: 3400 S Highway 146, Baytown

Moody Methodist Church: 2803 53rd Street, Galveston

Spring Tabernacle: 3034 FM 2920, Spring (full – 200)

St. Peter Claver: 6005 N. Wayside Drive, Houston (full - 220)

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church: 18220 Upper Bay Road-Nassau Bay, Houston (capacity 250)

St Maximilian Kolbe Church: 10135 West Rd., Houston

Thurgood Marshall Elementary: 11433 Suburban Dr., Houston

Hilliard Elementary School: 6511 N. Wayside Dr., Houston

St. Mary's Catholic Church: 701 Church Street, Huntsville (capacity 200)

1st Baptist Church: 1229 Ave. J, Huntsville

New Life Central: 2104 Underwood, LaPorte

Fairmont Park Baptist Church: 10401 Belfast, LaPort

1st United Methodist Church: 4308 W. Dallas, Conroe (capacity 200)

1st Baptist Church: 906 Ave A, Katy

1st Baptist Church: 906 Ave, A, Katy

Kingwood United Methodist Church: 1799 Woodland Hill, Kingwood

Also a Red Cross information hotline number regarding locations of shelters is available for Hurricane Katrina victims. Call Red Cross 1-(866) GET-INFO. Local information Hotline number (713) 313-5480.

Pasadena: The Salvation Army East Harris County has opened a shelter at 2732 Cherrybrook Ln. in Pasadena. The phone number is 713-378-0020. They can use food, bedding, baby products and any other product one might need in a shelter. They do not need clothes. To donate, call 1-800 SAL-ARMY.

Families and individuals are advised to bring along basic personal items that they will need in the shelter. Those items should include pillows and bedding items, essential medications and health- related items, extra clothing, and a toy or activity for any children they might be bring with them.

[GalvestonDuck]

WTG, Gale! I just copied that from the sticky and was about to bring it here. Lots more shelters than just the Astrodome.

[Brent]

I heard earlier some will be taken to the Reunion Arena in Dallas... I don't know if that's people from the Superdome or other people who have been rescued... but that's what they said.

[TXGale]

Well...I'm surprise I beat you to it Duck, seeing that I'm the kind of a two finger typer.

I just hope it helps.

[TexasSam]

They just opened up the Astrodome to the people standing outside who didn't come from the Superdome. People had been lining up outside and they've just been let in. The buses haven't arrived yet. So obviously, they're letting anyone from the area in.

Where did you hear that? I just listened to the Live news on AM 740 Radio, and they just said that the Dome wasn't open to people not from the Dome in NO, and in fact turned away a bus that picked up people along the way...

[jopatura]

CNN. Just let the first bus that arrived in. Media has already interviewed most of the people from the bus.

[memphisvol]

There's a shelter opening all the way up here in Memphis tomorrow at Bellevue Baptist, they got nearly 600 calls asking for a shelter in town, just today

[jopatura]

CNN's changing their story. Now only people on buses can come in.

[Shoshana]

There are shelters open in Central Texas too.

[Eye10TX]

As of our local 10PM news tonight in Houston, it was to be only refugees from the SuperDome who would be let in to the Astrodome.

Now, upthread here, I read that they have let some other refugees in to the Astrodome who had gotten to Houston by other means.

I don't know which is true. I don't have cable, but am reading reports of others who are watching CNN who are still saying that only SuperDome people (coming in the buses) will be allowed into the Astrodome.

It is now my understanding, without actually calling all of those shelters listed above, but from news reports, that all the Red Cross shelters in Houston are full and some beyond capacity. I have to assume that does not address the church and other privately sponsored shelters.

The first bus had not arrived here when our news programs signed off, but here are the notes I made on the one TV news program that had someone reporting from the Astrodome parking lot (and another reporter stationed in NOLA somewhere on the West Bank, with the 2000 or so people waiting in a staging area for the next buses leaving the NOLA area, which was confusing because they weren't from the SuperDome and wouldn't be taken from there to the Astrodome!).


~~~~~~~
From the 10PM News:

The 10 shelters in Houston are now full and are turning people away. The Astrodome will only shelter those who were already in the SuperDome, no one else.

Reporter interviewed one family of 7 who drove in and had been turned away from 3 shelters, so went to the Astrodome. The gates are not yet open for the people coming on the SuperDome buses, expected to start arriving within a few minutes (Note: the first one came 7 minutes later, after the program had ended).

A man had brought serving pans full of pounds and pounds of BBQed sausage and roasted hot dogs down to the AstroDome from his restaurant to give any refugees who were there, but he was turned away by the Health Department, who said he couldn't serve them. He said they would be going to waste otherwise. This was apparently happening right in front of the evacuee family also being interviewed on TV--the ones who had no more money for gas and needed food and water! (I hope they got together with the BBQ guy after the cameras stopped rolling.)
~~~~~~~

FWIW, the man from the refugee family never stated that the shelters were FULL where they had been "turned away." He was acting like he was being discriminated against for some reason. He had signs all over his SUV saying "Let us In" and things like that.

If it's true that they relented on the rules in the Astrodome a little later, then maybe he and his cute little kids did get to go in. I'm just hoping he wasn't "shelter-shopping" or something!

Next busloads from NOLA Superdome expected 1AM-3AM.

[blueeyes_austin]

They know WHO the Superdome folks are and they've already been checked for weapons and guns.

[birdwomn]

THis is rough...we need to find a palce for everyone somehow. Clearly Houston doesn't enough space to handle everyone and it may take a few more days to get things sorted out. Unfortunately, the evacuees are probably needing help right now, regardless of where they came from.

[jopatura]

CNN - The first bus wasn't actually from the Superdome, but had been stolen during the hours of looting and driven by a twenty-year old to Houston.

[soonertwister]

A man had brought serving pans full of pounds and pounds of BBQed sausage and roasted hot dogs down to the AstroDome from his restaurant to give any refugees who were there, but he was turned away by the Health Department, who said he couldn't serve them.

I work regularly with people from Health, and that's exactly what they do. Which is to protect the health of those wo are in their charge. If they accepted unsolicited donations from anyone who provided them, the could potentially expose dozens or scores or more of people to disease or death. It does not matter what the intentions of the person offering the donation are. There are rules and there are rules. They already had food in place to feed people.

How would we feel if a mass killer brought a thousand pounds of food to a dome shelter, and it was served up to the occupants of that shelter, with the result that hundreds or thousands of them died?

People are refugees because they have escaped danger. We cannot recklessly risk their lives because we aren't like them.

[Eye10TX]

I know about the Health Dept rules, but this was restaurant food that had been served to paying customers that evening and this portion was set aside for the refugees. They're certainly accepting meals from other well-known restaurants, but this was a smaller one.

[Eye10TX]

CNN - The first bus wasn't actually from the Superdome, but had been stolen during the hours of looting and driven by a twenty-year old to Houston.

I *heard* about that, but did they let them all in, anyway?