Charities offices turning to long-term needs of Katrina victims

Published: 2005-10-27

SAN ANTONIO (CNS) -- Tens of thousands of people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina were still in limbo two months after the storm -- not wanting to go back to their previous homes, yet needing help to plant roots elsewhere. "No," said Charles Blackwell Jr., when asked if he wanted to return to Jefferson, La., a small town west of New Orleans. "There's always the risk of another flood," he told Catholic News Service. "Then there is the way New Orleans citizens were treated." Blackwell was referring to the chaotic situation in the New Orleans area and the deficient emergency services provided by local, state and federal government agencies in response to Katrina, which hit New Orleans Aug. 29 and caused massive flooding in most of the city. Many of those affected the most were the city's poor, black residents. Blackwell and his fiancee, Desiree Morgan, were interviewed at the Catholic Charities office of the San Antonio Archdiocese, where they picked up a $50 gas voucher to help them get around after they decided to stay in the San Antonio area where Morgan has relatives.

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