GALVESTON—More than a month after Hurricane Ike came onto the Texas shore as a Category 2 storm, hundreds of Galveston residents still are searching for a place to call home, but a Baptist agency has stepped in to help.
At the request of Galveston County Judge James D. Yarbrough, the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management tapped Baptist Child & Family Services to establish a state shelter as a temporary home for more than 240 individuals and families to stay as they transition to more permanent residence.
“Officials continue working diligently to help those impacted by Hurricane Ike get back on their feet and begin rebuilding their lives,” BCFS President Kevin Dinnin said.
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Galveston Shelter Director Asennet Segura and Shelter Manager Terri Hipps work to determine the most effective and efficient ways to meet the needs of guests in BCFS’ care. (PHOTO/BCFS)
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The agency hopes to have all the people relocated and to close the unified shelter no later than Nov. 10, he added.
“People are not supposed to live in shelters. The Galveston County Unified Command will do everything possible to assist shelter guests secure transitional or permanent housing,” Dinnin said.
The Galveston Unified Command Shelter opened on the island Oct. 26, equipped with an around-the-clock operational mobile medical unit and nursing staff, catering services offering hot meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and laundry facilities. School buses also are transporting students to and from school daily.
“The shelter is a temporary home, but it’s a home nonetheless,” said Asennet Segura, Galveston Unified Command Shelter director. “We work hard to make sure guests are comfortable while they are in our care so they can focus on what is really important—getting their lives put back together.”
FEMA representatives and case managers are working one-on-one with displaced residents, locating a family member, apartment or other living arrangements that will meet the family’s needs.
BCFS established a unified command to assume shelter operations in Galveston County as a part of a public/private partnership with the state of Texas.
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BCFS is the principal medical special-needs shelter provider for the state during disasters and most recently provided incident command and management for the Texas Department of State Health Services element of Texas Task Force Ike.
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