Port Arthur Oct. 1, 2005

Rita Victims NEED Help in Coastal Texas

The coastal area of Texas was hit harder than any of us imagined until Wednesday when friends who had gone as North as possible without leaving the state, returned to the Houston area. They did not know whether their home was still standing or not until yesterday. On Friday, while driving through the once busy town of Port Neches, it was described as an eerie ghost town. Gas lines are sticking up out of the ground, electrical poles have fallen through the roof of their neighbor's home, the elderly lady across the road has no roof on her home.

My friend of six years contacted Sgt. Montalvo in Silsbee, TX. He had refused to leave although assured he would not get paid if he stayed. He would not leave because, "These are MY people."
He stayed with his people and rode the storm out but no one fared very well and by the time his mother and sister were able to get Gatorade and ice to him, his mother said his eyes were glazed over from lack of sleep and dealing with so much tragedy. "People are walking around like they are in a daze." Many are worried that if help does not reach them SOON, people will begin dropping like flies!

According to Sgt. Montalvo, women have been coming to him crying because they did not have water to mix the dry formula they had in stock; elderly people need blood pressure and diabetic medication, everyone needs water and gatorade type drinks, toilet paper, baby diapers, wipes, pre-mixed formula, sanitary items, sheets, blankets, any type of linens, and gasoline. We will have a more specific list from him later on today and these are the things that have been asked for this far.

http://needs4victims.blogspot.com/

Rather than giving to some large organization that has not appeared in Silsbee to date, we have decided that among all our fellow Texans, we can take care of our people in the Coastal Area. The media has been locked out, as well as the citizens of Port Arthur, Port Neches, Silsbee, and others we will begin to report about.

There are organizations in the East of the U.S. who have offered to help but the shipping costs are so high, it may be a problem for Paula Duffy and http://www.givingboard.com/ to get the clothes and linens they have available, shipped to us.

This is going to require a concerted effort but we are more than willing to collect donated items and put them into the hands of the people who need them. Sgt. Montalvo and his family have lived in this area all their lives and know exactly who needs what; we only have to get the supplies in to the people. The National Guard is posted on the outskirts of town to prevent people who are not residents from entering and curfew is being enforced. Unfortunately, the people in the towns do not have the ability to get to the National Guard in order to obtain any supplies.

We are doing what we know how to do best, help our neighbors.

We are simply trying to help the Victims of Hurricane Rita who have not had the assistance we all gave to the Victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In Houston, we were fortunate to not be in the path of Rita but our families in the coastal area were hit harder than most can ever recall happening before.

I hope this Blog will allow us to post pictures of the area because it seems that media has all but forgotten about our fellow Texans who have been hardest hit; the devastation is truly incredible.

If they had a rooftop to stand on, we might see pictures of them as well but for most, there homes are gone.

Those who evacuated are now scattered all over the state. Many of us continue to search for our families.

With my friend, her mother, and her brother, we are trying to set up a clearinghouse for information. They know exactly who needs what, and where they are located so we will be able to get supplies directly to the people who need it.

We cannot do this without help so, if you own a truck and have a day you can spend hauling coolers filled with ice, barbecue supplies, diapers, canned formula, baby wipes, baby and small children's clothing (for now), water, etc., please let us know.

Sgt. Montalvo will give us an updated list as soon as he can be reached again.

Families have not been allowed to enter Port Arthur; some were allowed to enter Port Neches to view the damage to their homes, then leave; while there were even larger numbers that remained in Silsbee, obtaining much needed supplies has been impossible until NOW.
No one is being paid anything, we just thought we would pull our resources and do as much as we can to help.

If you can volunteer your time, skills, or gently used items, please post to this Blog and let us know what you have in mind. We can use all the help we can get!

Thank you to everyone who reads this and takes action to help our fellow Texans who are standing in mud; many without their homes.
http://needs4victims.blogspot.com/
Is where we will post Needs and if someone has something to donate, we will probably start another blog for that.

We are not asking for money. We are asking for help in obtaining specific items these individuals have said they need, including sanitary supplies for the women, hand sanitizer is a NEED.

We are just learning as we go so if you know more about how to get a truck or two that will help us deliver a lot at once, rather than taking our cars in every day and the expense and scarcity of gasoline is a huge issue.

Aunt Jo