Red Cross & FEMA - slapped me!

[R. Exnicios]

Okay They did not actually slap me but I would have prefered it.

I wanted to enlighted people on how this all works.

I have just finished with several days of dealing with FEMA and Red Cross. As you probably know I am from New Orleans and had to leave due to hurricane Katrina. We have lost our house, one car and my business. Oue income has been cut in half and our expenses are climbing.

In Come Red Cross & FEMA

Red Cross.

They do great work in the disaster area. They get you water, food and first Aid. That's where their assistance ends.
Q:I asked well what happens to all the money left over.
A: It goes to other relief efforts in othyer places and other times.
Q: What about people that give money to Red Cross for Katrina shouldn't go to the Katrina Victumes
A: We make sure the money goes to helping the victums in most need.
Q: After that is done and there is $$$ left does it go to help the Katrina victums or area recover.
A: Very long speach about needs around the world etc. (i.e. NO) "have a bottle of water"

So Red Cross does me no good since I left when I was told, so I did not need rescue. I am staying with family, so I do not need ashelter. I have credit cards so I do not need food stamps or welfare or water.

On that note. There are food stamps, food vouchurs, and emergancy unemployment as well as living expenses. But wait you still have 50% of you houshold income from your wife, you earned too much money last year; You get Zero. "have a bottle of water, next"


Well Maybe FEMA can help. To make a long story short FEMA will LOAN us money for a portion of the expenses that are not covered by our insurance. IF we do not qualify for loans through a bank. "but,please have a bottle of water. next"

I guess I am a little pissed, Yes I am. The Ceo of Walmart is on Nation TV giving red cfross a big check but they will not take an out of state check with a New orleans Drivers Liscense!

If you want to help fencers or people you know look for other venues than Red Cross. We have plenty of bottled water.

I just had to vent. The news reports on CNN and National news have been completly incorrect on almost all accounts. If you want the "local news" got to wwltv.com that is a New Orleans news channel.

Really tired & Pissed

Richard Exnicios
exnicios@bellsouth.net (via Kinkos in Atlanta)

[ThatReallyHurt]

I'm sorry to hear about that, but I'm glad that you and yours are okay. Have there been any rumours about Federal assistance packages or something like that, or is it still too early for them to be working on that?

All the best - I'm praying for you.

[veeco]

This was also a problem for the victims of the tsunami in south asia. A lot of people gave a lot of money after the tsunami hit to the red cross and various organizations around the world, and that money isn't even used to rebuild the country.

In the end, the Red Cross and most of the other charity organizations are just "big business"

[howtobrew]

Vent Away Richard! I would be pissed too. And frustrated and worried about my family's future, etc. While I can't imagine the depth of your feelings, I can imagine the scope. I feel for you. Hang in there.

-John

PS. I don't think Los Angeles would notice another lawyer if you would want to re-locate here. (Hopefully that made you chuckle).

[jBirch]

Hang in there Richard!

On a lighter note, a number of Tulane Law Students are going to McGill in Montreal. Creole is, after all, French, Montreal can definitely use another fencing coach, your wife will love old Montreal, Quebecois love lawyers (we even elect them to Parliament) and Canada is about as far away from the Gulf Coast as it's possible to get.

Downside: Winter's coming.

Take it easy. We all send our best. Keep us aprised of how you are doing and what we can do to help.

James.

[epeeisky]

I can't believe that. FEMA is giving Baton Rouge around 10 billion dollars and they can't even help somebody that actually got hit by the hurricane.

[mlr2fence]

Doesn't surprise me at all. Did you read the reports coming out of Florida last year? FEMA gave out MILLIONS to residents of Miami-Dade; some for reports of ICE damage! Funny thing is, Miami was one of the few areas of the state that had no hurricane damage. All they got was some rain but yet people claimed they lost everything.
I guess you're being 'punished' since you worked and earned money last year, even tho you too lost everything.

[yeoldearmourer]

Have you heard that the people in the Astrodome are getting 2000 dollars debit cards from the feds plus the red cross is doing the same as well. But were the wrost damage from the Kanta was Mississippi and they aren't get crap. But the Casinos are still paying there employles Nad has far as the New Orleans the great Gov of that state told she needed 24hrs to make up her mind. Next day the level went. When did the mayor of new orleans use the city 600 school buses to get people out and the city buses. Why did over 300 school buses was left to flood. Then blame laids at the state level not on Bush The could have use the military guard military vec to eveate even now they have people that won't leave the city The people of the state of Louisana need to send a messesage to there Idiot Democrat Party.

[rcmatthews]

I am very sorry to hear about that. People in your situation are bound to get the short end of the stick in this type of thing. I think it is rather comparable to "reverse discrimination" to use a term from the 80s.

[esskreemr]

Hopefully, the response is mostly still in the early responder stage. Perhaps it will shift gears later when the mess is finally arranged properly. There are agencies other than FEMA and the Red Cross that you can try. I suspect the Small Business Admin will have programs to help you with your business.
www.sba.gov/disaster

Document your losses well. It will help get through any red tape.

When you contacted FEMA, did you go through the 'Frontline' or the Individual Assistance Center?
http://www.fema.gov/about/process/

A list of other agencies that may or may not help:
https://disasteraid.fema.gov/IAC/Dat...s&DSTR_NR=1603

You can at least get Federal Tax Relief.
Home:
http://www.finance.cch.com/columns/t...43disaster.asp

Home office:
http://www.finance.cch.com/text/c60s15d400.asp

Good luck. I don't know if any of this will help. It's just my pitiful way of saying that I hope everything will go well for you and your family. Have you thought about what you and your family are going to do? Are you planning on moving out of state or will you stay in the New Orleans area, whatever becomes of it?

[Black Jeebus]

I am very sorry to hear about that. People in your situation are bound to get the short end of the stick in this type of thing. I think it is rather comparable to "reverse discrimination" to use a term from the 80s.

Here! Here! *grumble* *grumble*

[nyacfencing]

I can understand why a donor or recipient of red cross relief might feel slightly betrayed by their policies, but you have to take a wider view to understand the reasoning behind it.

Almost as important as the help the red cross gives in these types of situations is the consistency of their service. Clearly some events are more "marketable" than others and will raise proportionally more funds (per people affected). Katrina was terrible and devasted a lot of lives... but with the exception of the Tsunami, how many hurricanes/tornados can one name that affected other countries around the world this year? I cannot name any, but surely there must have been...

The point being that the red cross wouldn't be useful if victims of disasters and their governments organizing relief had no idea what to expect from them and had to wait to see how much media attention the event receives before any aid is given. Only by providing consistant services is the red cross truly useful, and only by pooling and drawing funds as necessary is a consistant service possible on their part.

[Zelda]

Which is why when I contributed to Tsunami relief I gave to the WHO.

Richard, I am sorry you have to go through all of this. But its the usual song and dance that governments the world over do - "Oh you were legitametly employed and maybe have a bit of money stashed away for a rainy day? Well guess what? ITS PISSING DOWN!!!" While others who have not for whatever reason saved a cent and relied on teh government are handed yet more money.

Dont get me started on federal study grants in Australia.....its still a sore point with me - over 5 years after I graduated.

[remise]

Something similar happened to a family member of mine. Didn't qualify for Red Cross help because they were gainfully employed before the storm hit. Completely changed our view on these help organizations.

[demon_fencer]

Q:I asked well what happens to all the money left over.
A: It goes to other relief efforts in othyer places and other times.
Q: What about people that give money to Red Cross for Katrina shouldn't go to the Katrina Victumes
A: We make sure the money goes to helping the victums in most need.
Q: After that is done and there is $$$ left does it go to help the Katrina victums or area recover.
A: Very long speach about needs around the world etc. (i.e. NO) "have a bottle of water"

...and this is why many Californians don't give to the Red Cross. The Northridge & Loma Prieta earthquakes taught Californians the same lesson you guys are unfortunately learning. Even though you "think" you are donating to help out a disaster via the Red Cross, unless your check specifically says "for the xxx disaster" any cash left over when the Red Cross calls it quits will be used for upgrades to their equipment (computers, phones, etc) or is saved for the next disaster. After the San Francisico earthquake, enough people raised a stink that their money wasn't being used for San Francisico that the Red Cross offered refunds to anyone who wrote a check but you were out of luck if you gave cash.

I donate to other organizations.

On the up-side, there are many Californians that have organized their own drives to help out the Katrina survivors. My co-workers & I held a bake sale to raise funds that will be given to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Don't laugh, when you work for the City of Sacramento, a bake sale gets to be pretty big.

[oiuyt]

...and this is why many Californians don't give to the Red Cross. The Northridge & Loma Prieta earthquakes taught Californians the same lesson you guys are unfortunately learning. Even though you "think" you are donating to help out a disaster via the Red Cross, unless your check specifically says "for the xxx disaster" any cash left over when the Red Cross calls it quits will be used for upgrades to their equipment (computers, phones, etc) or is saved for the next disaster. After the San Francisico earthquake, enough people raised a stink that their money wasn't being used for San Francisico that the Red Cross offered refunds to anyone who wrote a check but you were out of luck if you gave cash.

And the same thing happened immediately post-9/11. The Red Cross is actually fairly public about the fact that donations go into their general fund to be used for whatever disasters they're dealing with rather than being earmarked for a specific region or group of victims. Whether or not you agree with the policy, it's hard to claim that the Red Cross is trying to hide it. I've seen it mentioned on national news broadcasts (mostly post-9/11) somewhere in the several-to-many times range.

-B :)

[AllisonT]

On NPR yesterday, they talked to a woman who was told by a FEMA official that claims paperwork would be sent to her home address....currently under water! Gotta love it.

When it comes down to it, we are all responsible for ourselves and thinking that the goverment will help is sweet, but unrealistic in these situations. They are covering their as*#s and keeping the media at bay.

Jump through the government and insurance hoops, but do what you need to do right now to get you and your family going again. I'm pretty sure most any adult fencer on this board will do what they can to help you out.

Safe travelling!

[gojujay]

I can understand why a donor or recipient of red cross relief might feel slightly betrayed by their policies, but you have to take a wider view to understand the reasoning behind it.

Almost as important as the help the red cross gives in these types of situations is the consistency of their service. Clearly some events are more "marketable" than others and will raise proportionally more funds (per people affected). Katrina was terrible and devasted a lot of lives... but with the exception of the Tsunami, how many hurricanes/tornados can one name that affected other countries around the world this year? I cannot name any, but surely there must have been...

The point being that the red cross wouldn't be useful if victims of disasters and their governments organizing relief had no idea what to expect from them and had to wait to see how much media attention the event receives before any aid is given. Only by providing consistant services is the red cross truly useful, and only by pooling and drawing funds as necessary is a consistant service possible on their part.

Nothing personal but, you sound like a Company Man.

[KD5MDK]

Even though you "think" you are donating to help out a disaster via the Red Cross, unless your check specifically says "for the xxx disaster" any cash left over when the Red Cross calls it quits will be used for upgrades to their equipment (computers, phones, etc) or is saved for the next disaster. After the San Francisico earthquake, enough people raised a stink that their money wasn't being used for San Francisico that the Red Cross offered refunds to anyone who wrote a check but you were out of luck if you gave cash.

Consider that when the Red Cross started spending money on Katina, there weren't any accounts labeled "Katrina Relief". It came out of the General Fund. If that doesn't get replenished, next disaster the ARC has to deal with, they'll need to wait a week or whatever in order for fundraising to give them anything to work with. I think I'd rather have the work done right away. All the Katrina relief from the ARC so far has probably been provided by people who gave after the Tsunami.

[MikeHarm]

Rex makes a good point, no more red cross donations from me.