Life and death of the forgotten (Waveland MS - Katrina forgotten)

[merh]

Posted on Fri, Dec. 09, 2005

Life and death of the forgotten
Winter's rain, cold are all tent dwellers can see
By RYAN LaFONTAINE
[e-mail]

HANCOCK COUNTY - For months, William Hayes and his wife have been scrounging for food and sleeping in a tent behind a storm-battered doughnut shop in Waveland.

Hayes said his wife, who was more than five months' pregnant, got sick this week when the temperature dipped into the 30s. Rain poured into their tent, it was cold, and his wife needed a doctor.

The couple was expecting a baby girl, but when Hayes got his wife to the hospital, his nightmare got even worse. The baby was dead.

"Nobody cares that we're living in this mud puddle right here," he said. "This ain't living; man, this is one hell of a mess."

(snip)

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/13365644.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

:cry: The forgotten -
Third world conditions on our shores and soldiers dying in illegal and immoral wars.
Can this be the reality for the citizens of this country, is this the heritage of the land of liberty?
Where is the outrage, can you not see, how easily this can happen to you?
I never thought it would happen to me.
Foresaken, forgotten and dispensible - the nobel future of we, the people of the United States of America. :cry:

LBN thread discussing this article - this tragedy.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1976185

[merh]

1. UPDATE has now been posted on the website for The Sun Herald.

For the sake of honesty, please note that an UPDATE has now been posted on the website for The Sun Herald.

Posted on Fri, Dec. 09, 2005
System may not be culprit in one man's homeless plight

By RYAN LaFONTAINE
[e-mail]

HANCOCK COUNTY - William Hayes has been sleeping in a tent behind a doughnut shop in Waveland for months. But, in this case, the "system" may not be to blame.

Hayes told the Sun Herald this week that he first applied for a FEMA travel trailer soon after his home along Mississippi 603 was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29.

(snip)

But Hayes' claim may not be completely accurate; a collection of some of the county's most prominent names has been caring for people in similar straits for months.

Rory McDowell, a 55-year-old corporate executive from Pittsburgh, Pa., who leads Hancock County Citizens in Action, said that his group has worked with Hayes for several weeks, and even got him a FEMA trailer.

(snip)

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/13370231.htm

I don't know what this means, I will try to keep the information current. The article ends with this statement "Read more about this story in Saturday's editions of the Sun Herald."

I will post all I can find out about this.

The truth is, there are thousands living in tents. I am not sure what is meant when the man says he found the Hayes a FEMA trailer. In my case, when I applied for a trailer, FEMA offered me the chance to live in a FEMA trailer park - away from what I had left, away from my "home" and packed on a lot crowded with other survivors. I chose to wait until a FEMA trailer could be delivered to my lot.

Again, I will post more when I learn more.

Thousands are still living in tents on the Gulf Coast.

Tents available

Harrison County officials announced Thursday that heated, family-sized private tents are available for Hurricane Katrina victims still in need of temporary shelter. These tents are large enough for an entire family to live together indoors, sheltered from the cold weather. Food is available on-site, as well as a laundry facility and security.

The tents are located at 4480 Espy Avenue and will be available until the end of January. If interested, call [phone] from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Please leave a message if there is no answer, and someone will call back.

In Hancock County, officials said anyone in need of tents should call Cardia Williams at 466-821, the EOC Volunteers

[NMDemDist2]

2. i answered in the other thread, but it was the Waveland mayor who

made me cry.

they need so much help and were so self effacing asking for it, it broke my heart

[merh]

3. When the mayors of the most devastated cities voices crack as

they plead for help, you know that the needs are great and their desperation real.

I wish the media would pay attention here. Reporters should be stationed here, just like they are in Iraq and Afghanistan. The plight of the thousands on our shores should be covered every day until the recovery is complete.

It will be in the 30's tonight, not the cold that other states experience, but with our humidity and the winds, cold enough to make sleeping in tents and the skeletal remains of homes impossible. :cry:

[EFerrari]

4. posted to KU (merh: these are my bread crumbs) n/t