Burger Center becomes Austin's haven [View All]

[NoPasaran]

The gym floor at the Burger Center, witness to some hotly contested high school basketball games, is covered with a tarp now, a couple dozen green cots with gray blankets sitting where coaches once strolled. The dressing room, filled with bags of dog and cat chow donated by PetSmart, has the faint odor of pet food. And in the bowels of the place, beneath the bleachers, counselors have set up shop and nurses take blood pressure.

The survivors of a long exodus from their home state, at least 200 families had registered with the Red Cross at the Burger Center by the middle of the week to get access to food, water, clothes and medication. Red Cross officials in Austin stepped up their activities Thursday as the weary and displaced continued to arrive, a full 500 miles from their homes in New Orleans. A dozen people stayed here Wednesday night; more were expected Thursday night. (Others stay at hotels, with relatives or strangers.)

Many of the residents here had fundamental concerns, such as where to get their next meal or find schooling for their children.

"We got out of town with only three outfits," said Bridget Brooks, who fled New Orleans with her two children, Justina, 10, and Kameron, 8, and other relatives. "It's hard when you don't know where your income is coming from."

http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/09/2burger.html