About 8,000 Katrina evacuees ended up in Austin in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina, and it's estimated that the city now has 2,000 to 7,000 evacuees.

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas worked early on with the local Red Cross chapter to provide vouchers for clothing that were redeemed in Goodwill stores. It teamed up with the Greater Austin Area Workforce Board to sponsor a job fair for Katrina evacuees. And, it placed nearly 300 evacuees in temporary jobs, with another 60 people on workforce development caseloads at any one time.

In the year since the first evacuees started flowing into Austin, Goodwill Vice President of Workforce Development Katie Navine and Employment Coordinator Marti Jedinak have learned a lot about this transient population.

Currently, the largest challenge facing the community is the shortage of housing. On August 31, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ended its emergency sheltering and temporary housing program for most recipients.

That means 330 families in Austin will not receive rental assistance from FEMA next month under the temporary program. Another 593 families were deemed ineligible to transition from the temporary housing program to an individual assistance rental program, according to data from the city's Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department.

Add to that the two-year waiting list that remains for Section 8 housing in Austin-and one can quickly get the picture.

"There isn't enough good low-income housing around here," Navine said.

Navine and Jedinak describe an overburdened social service network that is, somehow, managing to get by. Some of the hurdles they face include the transient nature of the population, the learning curve of understanding New Orleans' culture and attitudes, and the lack of trust some evacuees have for people trying to help them.

Jedinak described one female evacuee who had been receiving help from a caseworker for two months. Only then, did the caseworker learn that the woman's 42-year-old daughter, who was non-verbal and non-ambulatory, was living in the back of her apartment.

"[Evacuees] have no support system," Navine said. "In New Orleans, there was tremendous support for one another. It was a culture rich with caring for one another and taking care of one another."

"Now, that that's gone, where do you get it?"

Much of the collective relief work for evacuees stems from the city's Best Single Source Coalition, a group of social service agencies that is working to provide long-term, basic help to evacuees. As one of seven nonprofit agencies working with the coalition, the Austin Goodwill has helped provide 76 households with intensive case management services since February, Navine said.

The group has received $850,000 in funding for 18 months. But, Navine still worries about the needs of evacuees down the line.

"When you have an influx of people, we're at a loss for people who need long-term assistance," she said.

At the same time, there have been a number of positive effects stemming from Hurricane Katrina. Navine and Jedinak said they've met many professionals-several in the medical and mental health fields--who have settled in Austin and are happy to be here. All nonprofit agencies are paying more attention to disaster recovery plans, giving thought to the effects of pandemic flu and other hurricanes. And the social service sector, as a whole, is much more unified.

"Because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, there's more thinking of, 'We are one,'" Jedinak said. "It was already a good situation, but [the storms] totally enhanced it."

Job Fair Offers Storm Victims Opportunities

Austin, TX (2005) — Roughly two weeks after Hurricane Katrina flooded his hometown, Carl Williams -- a sorter at Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana (New Orleans) -- found something to smile about September 12 at the Austin Convention Center. "I’m moving out [of the convention center] at 3 p.m. today," said Williams, who’s 53.

"I’ve got the key in my pocket. And I will get my furniture from Goodwill tonight."

"Goodwill is my people."

The Austin Goodwill may now occupy a special place in the hearts of many people who attended a hiring fair, co-sponsored September 12 by the Goodwill and Work Source, the Greater Austin Area Workforce Board. Goodwill officials estimate that as many as 1,000 storm evacuees and job seekers walked through the maze of 150 employer booths, occupying a cavernous room of the convention center and then some.

The incredible response from employers surprised and pleased Courtney Weynand, Program Coordinator for the Goodwill’s JobSource division. With essentially one week’s planning time, the Goodwill and its partner recruited the companies, representing everything from temporary staffing companies, to contractors, to medical facilities. It also set up the clusters of tables and coordinated all of the volunteers.

"We knew it wouldn’t be a job fair of the traditional sort," Weynand said. "The point of us being here is to help those in need."

The job fair represented the second major initiative Goodwill Industries of Central Texas took on in response to about 4,500 storm evacuees coming to Austin. Soon after evacuees arrived, the local Red Cross chapter asked Goodwill officials to collect and distribute clothing to them. The Goodwill, in turn, established a voucher program with the Red Cross, allowing storm evacuees to get a $25 gift certificate to use in Goodwill stores and one free toy for their children.

As of September 9, the agency’s stores had honored 600 vouchers, said Jennifer Herber, the Goodwill’s Media Relations/Communications Specialist.

When city officials began discussing employment options, the names of Goodwill and WorkSource floated to the top. City leaders included the two organizations in the planning process early on, said Steve Kaiven, the Goodwill’s Program Manager-Rosewood.

At the same time, Goodwill aimed to provide as many jobs as it could. At Monday‘s fair, Goodwill looked to fill 25 positions for its busy Halloween season and another 25 part-time retail positions. By about 4:30 p.m., the Goodwill had placed 14 people in jobs, said Amy Burns, the Goodwill’s Human Resources Recruiter.

Austin Mayor William Wynn, who visited the Hiring Fair at mid-afternoon, said the organizations’ efforts were "spectacular."

"The gestation on a job fair takes a long time," he said. "For them to have achieved what they did in this short amount of time is a spectacular achievement."

Results for the local evacuees seemed largely positive.

Allana Matthews, a 20-year-old evacuee from New Orleans, was given a Goodwill job on the spot. She plans to stay in Austin for the long haul, saying going back to the Crescent City "is not an option."

"A roof over my head and a job -- that’s all that matters right now," she said.

Michael Gatewood, a 54-year-old evacuee from New Orleans, sought assistance from Goodwill, but was mainly interested in painting or construction jobs. Single with a brother in Austin, Gatewood said that he needs a job with benefits.

He almost wasn’t allowed to come in, Gatewood said, because he’s never stayed at the Convention Center. But someone finally sent him to the Red Cross, which dispatched him to the hiring fair.

"I had an apartment in New Orleans," Gatewood said. "I don’t have anything here."

Still, for others like Ann Scott, the road to recovering from the storm is even longer.

Scott said she flew to Austin two weeks ago, but still doesn’t know the whereabouts of her children, ages 10, 15 and 17. She is looking for either housekeeping or food preparation work, but, so far, hasn’t had any luck.

"It’s not doing too well," she said. "I was turned down for a house. I can’t find a job. I don’t know where I’ll be when they close [the Convention Center] down."

Jerry Davis, CEO of Goodwill Industries of Texas, said he hopes the Goodwill will sponsor additional hiring fairs, similar to what Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey did after 9/11. This hiring fair, he said, helped "sow the seed" that Goodwill is about jobs, although Goodwill will certainly respond to disasters "when they come to us."

"If there’s anything positive to come out of [Hurricane Katrina], it’s that I think there’s been a finer edge put out about what it is we do," said Davis, who is also Chair of the GII Board of Directors. "Our mission is about jobs and that’s what we do."

"Our moment is now -- it wasn’t two weeks ago," he said.

Financial donations from the public and from Goodwills around the world helped the Goodwills affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year.

Katrina was a very difficult ordeal for my family and me; but it is the generosity and caring of people like you that have made it bearable.
- Sincerely, Joan (Kenner, LA)

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Katie Navine, Vice President of Workforce Development Services with Goodwill Industries of Central Texas (Austin).
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Donna, a Goodwill Industries of Central Texas (Austin) employee, helps a job applicant fill out some forms.
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