Demands of the Hurricane Evacuees Council/Bay Area

Demands of the Hurricane Evacuees Council/ Bay Area

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November 2005

WE DEMAND REAL HOUSING

* stop all evictions of people from hotels and other housing; stop all threats of eviction by the Red Cross, FEMA and other government bodies;

* more resources for housing which must be provided immediately; extend the time that FEMA is paying for housing; no hierarchy based on how housing is provided(?); resources should not be distributed based on income (former or present); permanent housing must be prioritized by FEMA, not hotels/motels; hotels, motels and trailers should be provided on a temporary basis as needed, to be replaced by permanent housing;

* stop moving people from room to room at the hotels; housing to include basic essentials including kitchen facilities and refrigerators; people should have immediate access to decent clothing, furniture and other necessities for the home;

WE DEMAND THE INFORMATION WE NEED

* wide circulation by all city agencies, FEMA and non-governmental organizations of what resources and services evacuees are entitled to; all evacuees and those providing services to evacuees must have copies; resource lists should include city agencies, what they are responsible for providing, a person’s name to call and emergency contact number:

* wide distribution of a list of where to get free or discounted meals;

* community-based networks who are providing help should have access to information of where evacuees are;

WE DEMAND HELP WITH TRANSPORTATION

* free of cost Muni bus and Golden Gate transit system passes, BART tickets, and Amtrak tickets for evacuees and their children; Para-transit should be made available to anyone who needs it;

* access to California drivers licenses;

WE DEMAND THE MONEY AND RESOURCES WE ARE ENTITLED TO

* in the richest country in the world, all evacuees must get at least the $4350 they were promised and entitled to (an initial $2000 per family for evacuees and then an additional $2350 for housing costs from FEMA); no discrimination based on former or present income; many people did not get this money, others got different amounts;

* the money from the debit cards that was taken out must be given back (the Red Cross gave people $660 in Houston TX and many people report having between $300-360 taken away from them upon arrival in San Francisco);

* immediate access to Cal-works/welfare, food stamps, medical care and housing for all survivors;

* legal and other services and aid must be made available to evacuees;

WE DEMAND WORK FOR THOSE WHO WANT IT

* everyone who can and wants to should have the opportunity to have a job/waged work at a decent wage; all evacuees must have immediate access to an income including for their unwaged caring and survival work; companies who owed people for their work before the hurricane should pay this money now; the federal government should fine employers who show discrimination against hiring evacuees;

WE DEMAND QUALITY FAMILY CARE

* access to free quality childcare, elder care; care and support for people with disabilities; family members who are caring for children, the elderly and those with disabilities should be paid and receive other resources for that work;

WE DEMAND NO DISCRIMINATION

* no discrimination based on sex, race, age, economic, background, immigration and other legal or social status, sexual orientation, disability, etc;

WE DEMAND FULL ACCOUNTABILITY

* accountability and transparency for all monies from government and non-governmental organizations that is supposed to help or be handed to evacuees; how much did the Red Cross, United Way, FEMA, the City of San Francisco and other Bay Area cities receive for evacuees’ relief; how much money has come in and how is it being spent; how much of it is going to salaries and other administrative costs and how much gets to evacuees?

For more info or to send back the form, contact: Hurricane Evacuees Council/Bay Area
Box 14512 San Francisco CA 94114 or call/fax to 415-626-4114 sf [at] crossroadswomen [dot] net