September 9, 2005 - Volunteers were crucial to the effort of housing evacuees at the American Bank Center Arena since the moment they arrived late Saturday night. They worked hard until the last minute Thursday evening to help find permanent and temporary housing for all of the victims who desired it. At the highest level the arena was housing 337 victims displaced by Hurricane Katrina. As the days progressed, many of the people with the help of volunteers were reunited with their loved ones. Through determination, the volunteers helped the majority of the evacuees at the arena find apartments, homes, hotels, host families, and reconnect them with their families in other cities. Only 17 evacuees transitioned from the arena to the Memorial Coliseum Thursday evening.
The City of Corpus Christi moved quickly to provide much needed shelter for the displaced victims and had always intended for the arena to be a short-term facility until space was available at the coliseum, which is a long-term shelter. Volunteers from all over took advantage of the short amount of time to meet the needs of the displaced victims. The Catholic Diocese, Southcoast Church, and Bay Area Fellowship were just three of the many charitable groups that helped make the arena a more welcoming environment for the evacuees.
On the first night Bill Cornelius, Bay Area Fellowship Senior Pastor, went from door to door asking neighbors to donate blankets for people coming to the arena. The church also produced over 5,000 personal hygiene packages for the victims and helped organize laundry services to wash towels. Father Pete Elizondo, Catholic Diocese, helped pack the victims newly acquired possessions and accompanied them to area hotels. The Catholic Diocese helped arrange numerous hotel reservations and transportation for the victims. Members of Southcoast Church are hosting a family of 12 and a family of five at an area hotel. Volunteers with Bay Area Fellowship, Southcoast Church, and the Catholic Diocese knew it was essential to team up in order to make a difference. “It was about working as a team,” said Cathy Harwick, Bay Area Fellowship children’s minister. “It was about getting down into it, getting our hands dirty, and meeting needs,” said Harwick.
As a team, the volunteers had one goal in common—to meet the needs of the evacuees. For many of the displaced, that meant finding temporary or permanent housing for families. The church volunteers worked tirelessly to make reservations at area hotels, find apartment owners willing to help, and some of them opened their own homes to the evacuees. They recognize that their work has only begun. “We are going to stay connected with these families until they rebuild,” said Janice Cruse, Southcoast Church senior pastor. Volunteers say their next task will be providing the same relief to the people staying at the Memorial Coliseum.
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