This Washington Post article reports that a survey by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health has found that less than half of all New Orleans evacuees living in emergency shelters in Houston said they will return to the Crescent City and that about two-thirds of those who plan to relocate are probably going to settle permanently in the Houston area.
The findings in the survey are consistent with my anecdotal experience in talking with evacuees while volunteering over the past couple of weeks at the George R. Brown Convention Center and at my family’s church here in The Woodlands. Few of the evacuees who I have spoken with plan to return to New Orleans, primarily because they have lost everything and they do not believe that they will have any employment opportunities for a long time if they were to return. Those who have relatives in larger cities in the region tend to gravitate toward those family members, but few of the evacuees have any desire to move away from the region. I helped cook breakfast for some evacuees this past Tuesday morning, and one nice man put it to me in this way with a wry smile: “If we were to leave [the region], where would I fish?”
Finally, every evacuee with whom I have spoken has expressed heartfelt gratitude for the kindness and hospitality that Houstonians have shown them. One of my sons and I are looking forward to working the morning shift (4 a.m. to 10 a.m.) tomorrow at the Brown Convention Center, and it appears that we will be helping the last group of evacuees at the Brown prepare to move on to smaller shelters or apartments. Houston officials are projecting that the Brown Convention Center shelter may be able to be closed by as soon as the end of this weekend. The Astrodome and Reliant Convention Center shelters at Reliant Park are currently scheduled to be closed by early next week, although the Reliant Arena shelter at Reliant Park will probably continue to be City’s center for processing evacuees to smaller shelters and permanent housing for several more weeks.
Finally, the NY Times carried this nice piece about Houston‘s civic efforts to assist the evacuees from the Gulf Coast.
Update: Just got word that the Brown Convention Center will close as a shelter after dinner next Tuesday, September 20.
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Popular Shreveport, Louisiana-based PGA Tour golfer David Toms was hospitalized yesterday on an emergency basis after he was seen clutching his chest and taking a knee due to an escalated heart rate while playing the first round of the 84 Lumber Classic in Pennsylvania. Toms was rushed to a hospital via Life Flight helicopter where he is now reported to be in stable condition.
