Day Fourteen, 10.01.08

Hi Team,

Greetings from Pasadena, TX!

Bringing fresh faces and energy to Ground Team Ike, we are:




Jane Montoya



Catherine Hong Le



Cassie Reid



Cobi Jackson



Zeninjor Emwemeka


After just one full day of (wo)manning the mobile Ike Help Center, let us just say: we are absolutely in AWE of Jane, Laura and Patricia. With unflagging enthusiasm and dedication, these ladies have been there every single day at the mobile computer lab, 9am-7pm, 7 days out of the week. This is in addition to all of the extra hours taken up by transporting/setting up/maintaining equipment and troubleshooting logistical issues as they travel from town to town across this lonestar state. Laura and Patricia, get some well-deserved rest! We hope we can live up to your example.

Today, we were set up in a church and helped more than 130 people who came by to fill out their FEMA forms. To put the situation into context, imagine what it's like to be someone whose home has been hole-punched by Hurricane Ike. Due to heavy traffic, some social services offices are swamped and no longer accepting applications by phone. And, if the physical offices near you have been closed, your only recourse is to fill out an online form. In the case of FEMA forms, if you don't have a social security card, you can't file online. Even if you try to file your child's name because he is a natural-born citizen, it doesn't work because only social security numbers of adults aged 18+ are accepted online. You can try calling FEMA on the phone...but, good luck. It can take hours to days to reach a representative. When you finally do get thru to file your application, it'll be another 10-14 days for these forms to be processed and for a FEMA agent to come out to assess damages.

It is a frustrating and time-consuming process. Some families are so grateful that we are there to sit next to them and to simply listen while they are going thru this process.

We will be sharing more snapshots and stories...thanks for your help and support!