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Hurricane Katrina

Bay area guestrooms see few storm evacuees

People offered their homes and support to Katrina evacuees. Few of those were filled.

By MEGAN SCOTT
Published September 27, 2005

Days after Hurricane Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast, Sarah Davidson created an ad and posted it on several Web sites.

We are an average family ... and want to offer to share our home with another family for as long as they need to get on their feet, it reads . We can offer friendship and support.

"I am just doing this because I felt that I absolutely had to," she said. "If they are just tired of being in a tent, and have kids and want to get them in school, or if they need a shoulder to cry on or someone to share a laugh, that would be us."

Davidson has yet to receive a response.

Few of the estimated 2,200 families left homeless after Katrina who were helped by the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Red Cross sought shelter from strangers, according to chapter spokeswoman Melanie Koch.

Evacuees who came here came because they had family or friends in the area, Koch said.

More than half of Louisiana's evacuees found shelter in Texas, Newsweek reported. Most of the others were sheltered in Arkansas and unaffected areas of Mississippi and Louisiana.

Florida was further down on the list, and the Tampa Bay area hasn't seen any great influx.

"Clearwater is in the middle of the state," said Rebecca Lett, community relations coordinator for the Homeless Emergency Project in Clearwater, which opened up 50 beds for evacuees but received only two families. "If you don't have a vehicle or transportation, it's a far distance."

Evacuee Gustavo Gus said he chose Clearwater because his father lives there. He evacuated with his grandparents and girlfriend.

"It was really hard to leave home - to leave all the things we had and start all over again," said the 22-year-old, who is living in an apartment and looking for work. "But the people here have been really kind. I think we would like to stay."

A look at any Web site devoted to hurricane relief reveals numerous offers to help victims find jobs, take care of their children and buy them clothes.

Many of those offers have come from Tampa Bay families.

The Reynolds family, who live in the city of Hernando in Citrus County, posted a note on www.hurricanehousingsearch.org They already have a room set up - with a bunk bed and futon, enough for a family.

"We're willing to help them out as much as possible," said Amy Reynolds, 18, a student.

Such an outpouring of support shows how a natural disaster can compel people to help others, said Stephen Ritz, a Georgia psychologist who specializes in trauma.

Ritz said the magnitude of the hurricane, along with news coverage, personalized the disaster and made people more willing to sacrifice in ways they might not otherwise do for those in need.

It might be harder to help the homeless because "we don't know how that person got to be homeless," he said. With evacuees, people know something about their circumstances.

"We had a lot of information about how people got to be displaced in this disaster," Ritz said. "So it became a lot clearer, based on that information, what we could do to try and help out."

Craig Ferris, 34, of Treasure Island, said he wanted to sublet his studio to a displaced family. He went to Biloxi and Gulfport to volunteer after the storm and saw the devastation firsthand.

Ferris, a hairstylist who owns Mas Productions, posted an ad to several Web sites. He received a couple of responses from evacuees, but they found someplace else to live.

"I'm not trying to be super picky," he said. "I just want to help out."

--Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Megan Scott can be reached at 445-4167 or mscott@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 27, 2005, 02:45:31]