Hundreds, if not thousands, of people affected by Katrina and Rita have found a home in Philadelphia. Please use this section of the Been There Clearinghouse to post a need, if you are relocated to Philly, or post if you want to help out.
In Pittsburgh, the former residents of the Gulf Coast who have made a home there have formed an association, The Gulf Coast Connection, and now that association has started a branch in Philly. The Gulf Coast Connection offers the evacuees in those cities a network, information and support.
For more information on the Gulf Coast Connection contact:
Lurline Cadogan (the founder, in Pittsburgh), c/o Family Resources at 412-363-1702 x1417,gcc@familyresourcesofpa.org
or call Daisy Dyer (in Philadelphia): 267-456-2492.
The needs of evacuees in Philadelphia, like everywhere, continue. If you want to assist in any way, please read through the following comments to see where you can help. If you are an evacuee in Philadelphia and are in need of items, please post as well. Our hope is that you will connect with each other. We have found, over and over again, that it is the one-on-one connections that go the longest way.
Please note: A resource here in Western Pennsylvania for evacuees is Project Katrina. Visit this link for more information.
If you have questions or comments, please contact us at cooper.and.emily@mac.com.
Donors: We have not vetted the people using our site to find goods, nor can we vouch for them. It’s critical that you speak with them to determine whether it’s a good match and decide whether you feel comfortable donating and sending the goods they requested to them. We strongly urge you not to accept an arrangement that doesn’t feel right. If you connect with an evacuee and you think for whatever reason it’s not a good match, tell them so. If appropriate, you can encourage them to use our website to look for other donations.
Evacuees and Hosts: We have not vetted the people offering donated goods on this site, nor can we vouch for them. We cannot guarantee that they will follow through on any particular donation that they’ve offered on the website. If you suspect that a donor is not coming through with a donation that they’ve offered, the best bet is to go back to the website and connect with another donor.
Indeed, there is power and community building in blogging as your site shows. This is also an example of how blogging generates stories for print. As a newspaper reporter in Philadelphia, I will be writing about your mission in one form or another. To quote that great philosopher Ray Charles, “Keep makin it do what it do!”
Hello,
I would like to give give away some items that may be needed. I have a toddler bed with a mattress also some stuff animals, toys, clothes. If any one relocated from Katrina needs any of these things please email me and we will talk. Thank you!