Fayette officials prepare to help hurricane evacuees
A handful of people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina have already found their way to Fayette County and government and human service agencies are preparing to help them and any other victims of the catastrophic storm that arrive. Gov. Ed Rendell appointed Pennsylvania Careerlink as the contact point for people displaced by the hurricane who end up in the state, said Sean D. Sypolt, manager of Careerlink Fayette in the Fayette County Business Park on Route 40.
Sypolt met Tuesday with representatives from county and social service organizations and asked them to direct all hurricane evacuees they encounter to Careerlink, which will connect them with federal and state agencies as well as local agencies that can assist them.
“We are going to be the pass through for people coming through the area,” Sypolt said. “Just think – if you were uprooted and taken to another place – what you need.”
He said the county should expect more hurricane victims because of its proximity to Morgantown, W.Va., where about 3,500 evacuees are being taken, but not a massive influx.
One of the biggest problems in assisting the victims is that some don’t have their driver’s licenses, Social Security cards or other forms of identification, Sypolt said.
A representative from the St. Vincent DePaul Store in Uniontown said five people from the south who had driver’s licenses came to the St. Vincent DePaul store for clothes Friday.
Sypolt said Careerlink obtained phone numbers to contact those people. He said the numbers are local so he assumes they are staying with relatives in the area.
He said Careerlink will be a conduit to services and assistance from the state and federal governments, and direct hurricane evacuees to county and local agencies – like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Fayette Count mental health program and Fayette County Community Action – than can help.
Counselors will meet with the victims and determine their needs, Sypolt said.
Jamie McCahill, of the Fayette County Housing Authority, said the authority has made 75 units available to victims and sent a representative to Texas, where many of the victims were taken.
Sypolt said agencies that assist evacuees should provide the needed help first and then try to obtain identification and other information if it is needed to determine eligibility.
A representative from Head Start said the agency is waiving all eligibility requirements for hurricane victims.
Sypolt said evacuees can obtain state identification cards from the Department of Transportation and Social Security cards from the federal government
Someone from the Social Security Administration office in Uniontown said victims can receive a document verifying their Social Security number, but not a new card.
She said the process of obtaining the document has not been streamlined because the administration has to protect against identity theft.
Careerlink will help them obtain temporary or permanent jobs, Sypolt said.
He said people who worked at a Wal-Mart that was destroyed or closed due to the hurricane can get a job at another Wal-Mart store.
84 Lumber had three or four stores in the affected area and the company asked Careerlink to contact them of if any employees from those stores come to Pennsylvania, Sypolt said.
He also distributed Rendell’s declaration of an emergency in the state to respond to the hurricane.
It says Rendell transferred up to $500,000 in unused appropriated funds to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. The money is to be used for disaster-related expenses incurred by state agencies.
Rendell’s declaration directs all state departments and agencies to use all available resources and personnel necessary to assist with the emergency.
The document includes instructions on handling evacuees who were enrolled in the federal food stamp program and those applying for food stamps, cash assistance program applications and those receiving Medicaid assistance.
It says the American Public Human Services Association is in the process of developing a standardized form for all states to use to track children that were displaced by the hurricane.
The document also includes hotline numbers and contact information for a variety of services.
To locate relatives, call 1-866-438-4636.
To register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, call 1-800-621-(FEMA) 3362 or contact the agency at www.fema.gov.
To report fraud to FEMA, call 1-800-323-8603.
The Social Security Administration hotline is 1-800-772-1213.
The Internal Revenue Service hotline is 1-800-829-1040.
The Veterans Administration hotline is 1-800-827-1000.
The Federal Housing and Urban Development hotline is 1-888-297-8685.
To volunteer for relief work in Louisiana, call 1-866-334-8304.
To volunteer in Mississippi, call 1-866-230-8903.
To volunteer in Alabama, call 1-877-273-5018.