Communities cross the line to provide aid
When Gulf Coast officials called for help last month after Hurricane Katrina ripped through their communities, Penny Geis did not think twice about getting involved. Geis, administrator for the Hampshire Council of Governments, offered her home in western Massachusetts to the family of a local government worker from the Gulf Coast.
“I live in a small New England village with good local schools and plenty of safe open space for kids to run and play,” Geis wrote in an e-mail to the Washington-based National Association of Counties (NACo), which is helping to coordinate county government relief operations. “I can’t leave my job,” Geis says. “I don’t have a lot of money to give, but my kids are gone, and this was something I could do. I feel something in common with other city and county workers. They are my family in a way.”
Without hesitation, many other government employees have rallied around their stricken colleagues. Like Geis, some have offered to take homeless families into their residences. Many localities are raising money for the relief effort, while others are sending food, medical supplies and clothing.
Police officers and emergency responders from across the country have descended upon Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi to help bolster local departments. In many cases, city and county officials from the Gulf region put out specific pleas for assistance. In other situations, out-of-state law enforcement officials and emergency responders arrived without notice, ready to help.
Scott County, Iowa, Sheriff Dennis Conard sent seven officers to St. Charles Parish, La., to help protect a Wal-Mart and a gas station in the days after Katrina hit the state. “I think this is what it is supposed to be all about,” says Conard, who adds the officers are ready to return to Louisiana if needed. “When a local law enforcement agency asks for help, you respond to their request. And they needed the help.”
The housing situation in some Gulf communities, namely New Orleans, which was flooded with a toxic stew of chemicals, waste and dead bodies, is dire. In response, communities across the nation set up shelters, and displaced residents were airlifted to the temporary quarters. Upon arrival, children were enrolled in schools, and local officials began the arduous process of helping the adults put their lives back in order by working with other organizations to provide financial assistance, temporary housing and jobs.
No state has been more affected by the evacuees than Texas. More than 200,000 people have sought refuge in the Lone Star State, taking up residence in temporary shelters, hotels and private homes. “We’re very proud of the way local government has responded to this crisis,” says Houston Mayor Bill White. “We’re managing the effort efficiently and compassionately, and we welcome the generosity of so many who have offered to help.”
So far, Houston residents overwhelmingly approve of how White has handled the situation, according to a Houston Chronicle/KHOU poll commissioned in mid-September. Gov. Rick Perry and Harris County Judge Robert Eckels also received favorable ratings in the poll.
Ellen Reckhow, chairman of the Durham County, N.C., Board of Commissioners, says she is not surprised at people’s willingness to allow their local governments to help. “Our citizens want us to step up,” says Reckhow, whose government has adopted Jackson County, Miss., as the community it will help through the crisis. “The word is it would be inappropriate not to respond. They feel so strongly, and we are lucky to be in the position to help.”
