Estimates are coming in with about a 200,000+ refugee population in Houston. This is unprecedented in every way. I hope we can handle it.
That's where my brother goes to school. That place is packed as it is already. I'm glad the school didn't let that stop them from letting the children get their education. It's important to try and stabalize their environments as much as possible.
Moveon.org is organizing housing for refugees, you can go here: http://www.hurricanehousing.org/host.html if your still interested
A friend just went by the Astrodome on her way to a doctor's appointment, and she said even now, tons of teens are just running around rampent. I live pretty close to the dome and Reliant too, and I'm not feeling all that safe at all. What are these thousands of refugees going to do for the next month or so, when they can come and go as they please? A friend at work says her mom in Baton Rouge is afraid, because refugees are running through her neighborhood, breaking into homes and stealing whatever they can get. Sad times...
I've got like 5 garbage bags full of clothes to donate. I wonder if that is the best place. Anyone have any ideas?
my church is collecting clothes and distributing them to a group called Memorial Assistance Ministries. they're specifically asking for clothes to help out. http://www.maministries.org/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=2
Guys, a law school buddy of mine's wife is conducting a donation drive focused on items for babies this weekend. Max, you may remember him as well. Here's the info: Dear Friends: My wife, Michelle, is helping to organize a drive to collect much needed baby and childcare items (see the attached e-mail below) to assist those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. This drive will be taking place at "A Woman's Work" in Rice Village (address included below) or, if convenient, you may also deliver materials to our law firm: Kelly, Smith & Murrah, P.C., 4305 Yoakum Blvd., Houston 77006. As a Floridian who was displaced for some time following Hurricane Andrew in 1992, I have some understanding of the hardship these individuals are experiencing right now. As such, I would encourage each you to join in this drive or others (such as donating to the Red Cross) to assist those in need. Thanks for all of your help. Jeremy M. Fingeret Kelly, Smith & Murrah, P.C. 4305 Yoakum Blvd. Houston, Texas 77006 Telephone: 713-861-9900 Facsimile: 713-861-7100 jfingeret@ksmpc.com CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT This electronic message transmission contains information from the law firm of Kelly, Smith & Murrah, P.C. and is confidential or privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the person(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of or any other action based on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you received this electronic transmission in error, please notify us by telephone at (713) 861-9900 immediately. -----Original Message----- From: Fingeret Michelle [mailto:mcfingeret@yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 3:12 PM To: Annat Wolf; Annat Wolf; scororve@yahoo.com; David Sheinbein; Simone Silberlicht; Robin Cororve Stein; Angie Stotts; Bianca Wigder; Jeremy Fingeret; Anna Frankfort; Renee Freedman; Michelle Friedberg; Carrie Gregg; Monica Huffman; Josh Jacobs; Rachel Jacobs; jfingeret@kellysmithpc.com; Laura Krewinghaus Johnson; Nirayl Sternberg Cororve; gbeinart@mdanderson.org; dan@stein99.com Subject: baby goods drive - correction Please note in my last email that the dates were incorrect. Here is the corrected information - please forward THIS email to those you know... ---- Houston Moms Helping Katrina’s Kids We are a group of psychologist moms who want to help the many families seeking refuge in our city following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. These families are in need of so much. Our focus is to help them provide for their children. In addition to making cash donations to the Red Cross and other organizations, we encourage families to donate new or gently used baby and childcare items, including: Diapers of all sizes Baby Wipes Formula (expiration dates MUST be on the container) Baby Bottles Clothes Jars of baby food of all types Baby gear We will be accepting donations at “A Woman’s Work” at 2401 Rice at Morningside in the Rice Village on Friday Sept 2nd and Sat Sept 3rd between 11am-4pm. We will be working with the Houston Food Bank to distribute these goods to needy families. Michelle Cororve Fingeret, Ph.D. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Division of Cancer Prevention Postdoctoral Fellow
No problem. I also e-mailed the ABA - apparently FEMA is going to set up a line for lawyers to provide legal advice by phone to refugees. I'll send along more info when I get it.
definitely share if you learn about that. i'd like to help out. assuming i'm not running a church shelter next week!
at craigslist, people from around the country are offering up their homes to victims, just pages and pages of offerings http://neworleans.craigslist.org/hhh/ just amazing
Hats off to you Houston. If what I've observed over the years on Clutchfans is any indication of the class of people who live in this area, I'm sure you good folks will be more than able to handle the situation with compassion and efficiency.
THE ABA????? We don't need no stinkin' ABA. No surprise that the HBA is already way ahead of those yahoos. Thank you to those who have already responded to yesterday's email and the legal community's response is heart-warming. Here is an update: 1. When yesterday's email went out, we were unaware that victims of the disaster were going to be bused to Houston. Once we received this information, we contacted the government officials and disaster response officials to offer additional response from the legal community. Working with the Houston Volunteer Lawyer's Program (HVLP), the HBA is now coordinating the establishment of in-person legal advice booths at the various shelters and the Astrodome. We are in need of lawyers to staff the booths for a couple of hours (in different shifts) over the next two to three weeks. Although we believe many of the questions are generic in nature (not specifically directed to the law of any state), we recognize the need for lawyers who are familiar with Louisana law. So if you have familiarity with Louisiana law, we really need your help. It is not our intention that you develop an attorney-client relationship with the people you advise or "take their case", and the HVLP has the system in place that will alleviate any liability concerns you may have. If you can donate a few hours to provide legal advice at a shelter or the Astrodome (probably starting next week), please email Melanie Richard melanie.richard@ehvlp.org at the HVLP or call (713) 228-0735, ext. 119. 2. A State Bar of Texas task force has been created and Kelly Frels (a former HBA and State Bar of Texas President) has been appointed to chair this task force. More will follow on this. 3. As to the clothing drive (including diapers), the HBA's Campaign for the Homeless Committee (an established HBA committee) is working with the Houston Young Lawyers Association (HYLA) to direct this effort. These groups are working with the local media and the Houston Rockets and have established Tuesday, September 6, 2005 as the major drop off date for clothes and necessities. The Tuesday drop off site will be the Toyota Center, but we will also need volunteers on Wednesday and Thursday. The HBA office will continue to be a drop off site for the next two weeks in addition to the Toyota Center. We anticipate volunteers at the Toyota Center will be receiving donations, as well as sorting and packaging those donations and the hours will be from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. Please send an email to the HBA (hba@hba.org) with a copy to Tommy Proctor (wtproc@aol.com) if you are willing to volunteer and identify what days and hours you are available. If you wish to coordinate volunteers, please identify that also. Tommy Proctor and Ruth Shapiro are co-chairing this committee and look for an email or call from either one of them if you volunteer (even on the weekend). Monday is a holiday, so please leave weekend contact information if you wish to volunteer on Tuesday. Look for additional HBA updates on this, but we encourage each law firm to continue their clothing drives with these dates and drop off points in mind. 4. If you or your firm have already made a donation to the American Red Cross (or want to make your check directly to the American Red Cross), the HBA would like to report it as a part of the legal community's response to this disaster or deliver it to the Red Cross along with the other monies we receive as a part of this drive. Please report your donation by emailing Jennifer Watson at the HBA -- jenniferw@hba.org. Also, if you are looking for an alternative source to donate money to, the Salvation Army is one of those sources. Again, the HBA is willing to deliver these checks on behalf of the lawyer response initiative or would like you to report your donation to the HBA to allow us to keep track of the legal community's response. 5. The HYLA is working with Channel 2 to coordinate housing options between those non-lawyer Houstonians and those needing housing and will be staffing the phones at Channel 2 starting tomorrow (Friday, September 2, 2005) from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm, and continuing for at least a week. If you are interested in staffing the phones, please email hyla@hyla.org. The HYLA website is www.hyla.org. 6. It is reported that maybe as many as one-third of the lawyers in Louisiana have lost their offices and files. We continue to encourage you to report to the HBA (karenr@hba.org) any additional space you may have to offer the lawyers from the states hit by the hurricane. In addition, if you know of attorneys who need help, please have them email karenr@hba.org. We have already made some matches and appreciate those lawyers who have been quick to respond. 7. The Fifth Circuit had previously established emergency response plans in place and have implemented those plans. Those plans can be found at their website www.ca5.uscourts.gov . 8. The three law school deans from our city are in contact with the deans of the Tulane and Loyola law schools to address the educational issues facing those law schools and law students. We appreciate our local law schools' (and their deans') efforts. Again, thank you for all you do. Randall O. Sorrels President, Houston Bar Association Bill Kroger Chair, Houston Bar Foundation Jill Arntz President, Houston Young Lawyers Association
MadMax; I'm currently working ontrying to get fundraising ideas together here in MN for this disaster and have been thinking mainly of giving to the Red Cross but I think it would be a good idea to spread out aid. If you church is organized with other faith groups in Houston perhaps we could coordinate here to raise funds for your group. Send me an email through the Clutch system if you're interested.
BREAKING NEWS: City of Houston Fire Marshall has said the Dome can no longer accept evacuees and they are at capacity. Just when you think things couldn't get any worse .......
