Community Successes

Collaboratives Come Together for Hurricane Victims

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles featuring just some
of the continued efforts by Family Connection collaboratives across Georgia to assist people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Through the brief stories in this series, it is our hope that readers will see how working together in collaborative efforts really do touch the lives of people, especially in meeting our basic human needs.

Bacon
Several organizations came together to discuss streamlining the process to provide assistance to evacuees coming into Bacon County. The local office of
the Division of Family and Children Services acted as the starting point for many evacuees. The Alma Housing Authority arranged for several apartments to take in families immediately. Bacon County Family Connection coordinated efforts to help furnish the apartments. A private donor paid $2,500 to purchase furniture from a hotel in Florida to furnish 25 apartments and paid for the trucking expense to move the furniture to Bacon County. The Family Connection Food Bank helped stock kitchens with groceries and received funds from local business donors to help buy fresh groceries, including bread and milk, for families. The collaborative also helped enroll students in local schools.

Bartow
Bartow County established a donation and relief site at the Atco Community Building in Cartersville, with the Tallatoona Community Action Partnership spearheading the effort. The county established a Red Cross Service Center as
a one-stop location for accessing mental health, DFCS, Dept. of Labor, and other services. The local Chamber of Commerce and several banks accepted cash donations for the Red Cross and the Salvation Army for hurricane relief. The Chamber also posted hurricane evacuee and disaster relief information on its Web site. Schools and churches conducted food drives, bagged Comfort Kits, donated school supplies, and provided lunches for workers and volunteers and snacks for hurricane victims accessing services. Camp Cherokee on Highway 20 in Cartersville served as a shelter. Bartow Collaborative-the Family Connection collaborative-assisted in keeping people informed, coordinating volunteers, and minimizing misinformation.

Carroll
Carroll County Family Connection Collaborative coordinated case management services for hurricane victims taking shelter at Roberts Hall at the University of West Georgia. School Resource Coordinators, CASA volunteers, Youth Connections Case Managers, and other social services professionals worked to provide immediate assistance to 178 adults and children. All children were enrolled in local schools. The collaborative also assisted in planning for long-term housing and assessing needs. The collaborative recruited additional volunteers to work on several efforts, including: arranging doctor visits; working with the housing authority and local citizens to seek housing; arranging airline reservations to reunite a 16-year-old boy displaced in Texas with his mother in Carroll County; picking up a family in Newnan to reunite with family members; implementing a van service to take victims to appointments; and donating clothes for victims. Local universities and churches also joined efforts.

Cherokee
The Woodstock Jaycees in conjunction with Wal-Mart, the City of Woodstock, and Jim Alexander opened up an old Wal-Mart building as a distribution site for donations. A local church helped people in their Family Life Center.

Clarke
The Athens/Clarke County Family Connection Partnership funneled information to Community Connection, the area 2-1-1 center, which gathered data on displaced hurricane victims and established a Web site for local Katrina-related resources. The collaborative also gathered information on what area needs were, including donations of money, clothes, household goods, and volunteer opportunities. Local faith-based organizations, civic clubs, neighborhood organizations, human services, business, and others including the Navy Supply Corps School, joined the efforts. The collaborative worked with local schools to gather supplies for students and their families, including clothing, school supplies, basic household needs, and furniture.

Clinch
The Clinch Family Connection Collaborative worked with a local funeral home to accept and distribute donations of food, clothing and supplies. A faith-based organization provided temporary shelter and served as a vendor for debit cards distributed by a local bank.

Cobb
The Cobb Community Collaborative-the Family Connection collaborative-served
as a coordinating agency for sharing information, resources and volunteers. More than 60 people joined together for a Cobb Katrina Coordination meeting facilitated by Jeri Barr from the Center for Family Resources. Representatives attended from city, county, and state government, United Way, Salvation Army, Red Cross, local agencies, schools, health departments, and faith-based organizations.

Coweta
Coweta County established a Red Cross-designated evacuee shelter housing 89 individuals. Another 543 evacuees transitioned to live with relatives or friends in the county. Coweta Schools enrolled more than 175 children. The county established a one-stop service center, where evacuees received clothing, food, household furniture, kitchen items, linens, and school supplies. They also received free access to cell phones and the Internet to contact family and friends. Local agencies, including DFCS, the health department, DOL, the school system, and the housing authority provided help at the shelter. Local churches provided transportation. Two local commercial laundromats furnished free clothes washing and drying for evacuees. The Alliance for Children's Enrichment-the Family Connection collaborative-coordinated fun activities for evacuees, including bowling, movies and skating. Many restaurants donated gift certificates for free food, and churches cooked and served meals. The Newnan Housing Authority secured housing for those who wanted to relocate. Many landlords donated three months of free rent, while utility companies waived deposits and donated utilities for at least one month. More than 90 families were displaced in Coweta County. Most of them have found employment locally. More than 80 churches adopted families for the long term. Local health organizations assisted four Hospice cancer patients, two breast cancer patients, and one evacuee awaiting a kidney transplant. Several doctors donated their services to evacuees needing medical attention. The county also sent 32 tractor trailer trucks filled with water, bleach, medical supplies, food, plastic sheeting, and other items to Louisiana and Mississippi.

Echols
Echols County Child Advocacy Board-the Family Connection collaborative-served as the local point of contact for storm victims.

Fayette
FACTOR-the Family Connection collaborative-served as the point of contact for housing. The collaborative worked closely with DFCS and faith-based organizations.

Henry
Connecting Henry-the local Family Connection collaborative-operated the Finance Division of the Operations Service and Resource Center at McDonough Presbyterian Church for several days. The collaborative also served as the local resource for getting donations to the evacuees and participated in the Ecumenical Meeting of Henry County Churches to create a support base for displaced families.

Jenkins
Jenkins County Family Enrichment Commission-the Family Connection collaborative-acted as the point of contact for families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The collaborative worked with DFCS, churches, and the school system to help evacuated families.

Laurens
The Dublin/Laurens Commission on Children, Youth & Families-the Family Connection collaborative-assisted in enrolling displaced youth in school and gathering donations of clothing and other items. The collaborative also assisted with childcare and employment needs.

Liberty
Liberty County Family Connection served as a point of contact and provided assistance to displaced families. The group coordinated efforts with faith-based agencies and the local Red Cross.

Morgan
Madison Baptist Church served as a drop-off site for donations for storm victims residing at the Rock Eagle 4-H Camp in Putnam County. Morgan County Family Connection coordinated efforts with the local sheriff's office, government, Chamber of Commerce, and the Emergency Management Agency to gather donations for families.

Screven
Screven County Community Collaborative served as an intake site for hurricane victims. The United Way conducted intake at the collaborative office, while the collaborative coordinated efforts with the Middle Baptist Association to accept donations for food and clothing. The local Red Cross, DFCS and Salvation Army organizations met to address non-duplication of services and set guidelines for referrals.

Spalding
Spalding County Authority for Families & Children-the Family Connection collaborative-worked with a local relief center to help nearly 1,100 households, serve 5,000 lunches, and send nine tractor trailer trucks full of food, water and supplies to Louisiana.

Towns
Towns County Family Connection, which oversees the daily operations of the Towns County Mentor Program funded by MHDDAD, assisted with providing school supplies and clothing for several students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The collaborative also acted as a referral source, providing families with a resource handbook and names of agencies to contact for direct services.