Atlanta Journal Constitution
Doors, hearts open to refugees in Atlanta
Thousands of Gulf Coast residents fleeing the destruction of Hurricane Katrina are finding open doors in Atlanta. Families throughout the metro area are taking in stranded friends and relatives. Hotels are packed with evacuees. Shelters are quickly filling up with people who have nowhere else to turn.
Critically ill patients are being airlifted to Atlanta area hospitals. Stranded college students are being housed at Georgia Tech, and public school systems are enrolling displaced children. Atlanta has become a refugee center.
The American Red Cross received more than 3,000 phone calls in 26 hours from evacuees in Atlanta seeking help, Tim English, chief executive of the Metropolitan Atlanta chapter, said Wednesday. Calls came from new arrivals and people staying in motels and running out of money.
Now we're back to the olden days — when family takes care of family,"
Georgia Tech opened its doors to 275 displaced Tulane University students, faculty and staff early Wednesday after a call for help from the New Orleans school. Tech officials set up temporary housing on the third floor of the campus student center and offered showers, food and Internet access to six busloads of refugees. By midday, many of the Tulane undergraduates had headed to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, trying to catch planes to their hometowns.
Local school districts also are opening their doors to temporary students. Fayette County school officials have already registered students from New Orleans.
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