Evacuees' guide: Finding help, resources
LIST OF RELIEF EFFORTS | IF YOU CAN OFFER HELP | FULL KATRINA COVERAGE
Offers of help from ajc.com readers
Assistance agencies
Banking and insurance
Food stamps
Getting around
Housing
Jobs
Medical attention/find a doctor
Missing persons
Pets
Places of worship
Schools
Shopping
Assistance agencies
CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA
• Connects the church's social service agencies and disaster planning offices across the nation.
680 W Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30308-1931
Phone: 404-885-7212; Fax: 404-885-7200
www.catholiccharitiesinfo.org
CATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES
• Provides resettlement services to newly arrived refugees in Atlanta, as well as a broad range of support services to develop empowerment for refugee families.
601 E Liberty St., Savannah, GA 31401-3921
Phone: 912-201-4067; Fax: 912-201-4101
www.cssatlanta.com
FEMA
• To register for national FEMA disaster assistance, call 1-800-621-3362.
RED CROSS PROCESSING CENTERS
UPDATE: The American Red Cross has set up a national toll-free call center to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina with financial resources and referrals to other services.
To apply for aid, those in need should call 1-800-975-7585. They in must be ready to provide their name, pre-storm address, ZIP code and home telephone number to call center agents.
Callers will be given a client information number and will be given instructions to take it to a local financial institution to receive the funds
The call center was set up to cut down on waiting lines evacuees have been experiencing in Joint Disaster Recovery Centers, the agency said.
The local chapter said they have already given financial assistance to about 22,000 families. More information
The Red Cross has "mega service centers" in metro Atlanta to process evacuee requests for assistance. The centers give evacuees access to services from American Red Cross, Department of Human Resources, Department of Community Affairs, Department of Driver Services, Department of Education, Department of Labor and other state agencies, as well as the Atlanta Council for Aging, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Social Security Administration. The following centers will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
• Cobb County: Life University, 1269 Barclay Circle - Gym, Marietta, 30060
• Gwinnett County: Former Wal-Mart, 355 Grayson Highway Lawrenceville 30045
For more information: 1-866-269-7505.
SALVATION ARMY
• Drop-off sites: Salvation Army officials said they are collecting food and personal hygiene items for hurricane victims.
New drop-off sites across metro Atlanta have been added: 2090 North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta; 202 Waterman St. in Marietta; 130 Spring St. in Jonesboro; and 3771 Central Ave. in Doraville. Until now, only the center at 3455 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville had been taking items.
All five centers will be open daily from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., according to Carla Daniel of the Salvation Army.
TRAVELERS AID ATLANTA
• 404-817-7070, www.travelersaidatlanta.org
UNITED WAY
• To contact the United Way of Metro Atlanta, call 404-614-1000.
Banking and insurance
BANKING
• Displaced residents from the Gulf Coast should be able to gain access to their accounts via ATMs or online, said Peter Gwaltney, CEO of the Louisiana Bankers Association in Baton Rouge. Some banks, including Wachovia, are waiving ATM fees in parts of Florida, Mississippi and Alabama for noncustomers who use their ATMs.
• If customers have direct deposits or automatic drafts into their accounts, those should continue, bankers said. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures accounts, urged banks to waive monthly credit card or mortgage payments for affected consumers.
• The FDIC has set up a consumer hot line at 877-275-3342.
INSURANCE
• Homeowner's insurance companies have set up emergency hot lines and are preparing to deploy claims adjusters to the Gulf states, though they aren't sure when adjusters will be allowed into the hardest hit areas. Insurers such as State Farm are urging policyholders to begin the claims process.
• Ebony Lincoln, a State Farm spokeswoman in Atlanta, said policyholders in Alabama or Mississippi can cash claim checks at Wachovia branches since they are drawn against Wachovia accounts. Louisiana policyholders receive claim checks drawn from another bank, but Lincoln said State Farm was making arrangements for its Louisiana customers to cash those checks with other institutions.
• For a list of insurance companies' toll-free hot lines, go to www.disasterinformation.org.
Find a doctor/medical attention
• Katrina medical resource center hotline: Displaced residents of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama should call 1-866-752-3442 for all health care needs, such as information on local hospitals, medical clinics and dialysis centers, prenatal care, referrals and transportation to family physicians, pediatricians and other doctors' offices, prescription needs, counseling, housing for families of medical evacuees, HIV/AIDS, dental care and any other medical need. The hotline is staffed 24 hours a day.
• Metro Atlanta physician database
• VA patients who have established care in New Orleans, Gulfport and Biloxi can call 800-507-4571. VA employees from those areas can call 888-766-2474. Patients and employees can also visit the web site at www.va.gov for more information.
Food stamps and meals
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
• To get emergency food stamps, call the Division of Family and Children Services at 888-295-1769 or 404-651-6316 or go online: www.dfcs.dhr.georgia.gov.
• Evacuees can drop by the Salvation Army's Metro Atlanta Disaster Service Center in Gwinnett County at 3455 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville, GA, 30044 at noon for lunch each day.
Getting around
FROM HERE TO THERE
• Maps and directions: www.ajc.com/travel
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
• MARTA: 404-848-4711, www.itsmarta.com
• Clayton County Transit: 770-472-8800, web.co.clayton.ga.us/ctran/index.htm
• Cobb Community Transit: 770-427-4444, www.cobbdot.org
• Gwinnett County Transit: 770-822-5010, www.gctransit.com
Housing
HOUSES AND APARTMENTS
• www.hurricanekatrinahousing.org
• http://www.hurricanehousing.org/
• atlantahousingsearch.com
• www.georgiahousingsearch.org
• http://www.ajchomefinder.com
LODGING
• Travelers Aid Atlanta: 404-817-7070, www.travelersaidatlanta.org
• Hotels and motels
CRAIG'S LIST
• Community website lists offers of free housing around the country: www.lifehacker.com
Jobs
• The Georgia Department of Labor has set up career centers throughout metro Atlanta to help evacuees find jobs. The centers will remain open Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. For locations, call the toll-free number: 877-709-8185.
• Find work: www.ajcjobs.com.
• A site designed to connect New Orleans area employers and employees has been set up at www.findyourneworleansemployer.com.
• Construction Journal is offering free access to its online database of construction projects to help storm victims find work in the trades. Call 772-781-2144 or 1-800-880-2309, Ext. 302.
• Oreck, the vacuum cleaner maker based in New Orleans with a Gulfport, Miss., plant, has pledged to keep current employees on the job. It has set up a message line for workers: 1-888-528-0088.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration plans to hire temporary workers in disaster-recovery jobs that could last six months or longer. Annual salaries are from $27,500 to $50,500. Résumés may be faxed to 202-481-2901 or e-mailed to DA2HR@sba.gov.
• The Travel Industry Association of America is planning a Sept. 15 launch of www.katrinajobs.org, a travel-related job bank.
Missing persons
• To locate missing friends or family, visit the Next of Kin Registry at www.nokr.org or call 504-658-8700, 504-658-8721 or 504-658-8714.
• For New Orleans: www.nola.com
• For Atlanta: www.ajc.com
• For Mississippi: www.sunherald.com
Pets
• No More Homeless Pets Atlanta will board cats and dogs for Katrina evacuees staying at American Red Cross shelters. Pets aren't allowed at the shelters. The organization will pick up the pets and house them until other arrangements can be made. No More Helpless Pets is seeking pet foster homes. For information, call 404-272-2606
Places of worship
• Major religious organizations
School registration
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
• To find out where to register your child for school, call 404-656-2800 or 800-311-3627.
METRO SCHOOL DISTRICTS
• Atlanta Public Schools: 404-802-3500, www.atlanta.k12.ga.us
• Clayton County Schools: 770-473-2700, www.clayton.k12.ga.us
• Cobb County Schools: 770-426-3300, www.cobb.k12.ga.us
• Decatur City Schools: 404-370-4400, www.decatur-city.k12.ga.us
• DeKalb County Schools: 678-676-1200, www.dekalb.k12.ga.us
• Fayette County Schools: 770-460-3535, www.fcboe.org
• Forsyth County Schools: 770-781-6632, www.forsyth.k12.ga.us
• Fulton County Schools: 404-768-3600, www.fulton.k12.ga.us
• Gwinnett County Schools: 770-963-8651, www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us
• Hall County Schools: 770-534-1080, www.hallco.org
Note: If you are staying in an Atlanta-area shelter, the Atlanta Public School System is accepting students considered homeless.
These students will be enrolled in the school zone that is determined by the address of the shelter or temporary residence. To determine which zone in which a student resides, go to www.atlanta.k12.ga.us and click on Our Schools and School District Map/Zones, or call 404-802-3500.
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
• To inquire about enrolling at Emory University: 404-727-6123
• To inquire about enrolling at the University of Georgia: 706-583-0570
• To inquire about enrolling at Georgia College & State University: 800-342-0471 or 478-445-1283
Shopping
• Metro Atlanta malls
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