Although Oxford, Mississippi didn’t receive much damage from Hurricane Katrina, the city is definitely feeling the devastating storm’s aftermath.
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, a ‘resource center? was opened in the community offering hurricane evacuees from the Gulf Coast assistance ranging from financial aid to counseling to food and water.
Housed in an empty Wal-Mart building owned by the University of Misssissippi (Ole Miss), the resource center is being operated by the university, City of Oxford and Lafayette County.
A total of 1,060 family units have been processed through the center as of Monday afternoon, according to Buster Clark, Telecommunications Director for Ole Miss and coordinator of the university’s diaster relief efforts.
Each of these units represents about 3.9 individuals, said Bebo Howell, executive director of the northern/central Mississippi chapter of the American Red Cross.
It’s been estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 of the evacuees who have passed through the center are staying with family and friends or in hotels and motels in Oxford.
‘With us being a university town, a lot of people come to Oxford from the (Gulf) Coast for Ole Miss football, so Oxford’s like a second home to a lot of those people,? said Jimmy Allgood, director of Oxford-Lafayette County Emergency Mangement. ‘When they evacuate from a storm, we always fill up. A lot of people have strong ties to Oxford and Lafayette County.?
The other 1,000 evacuees at the center are staying in surrounding towns like Holly Springs, Senatobia and Batesville, according to Howell.
Because the resource center is not a shelter, no evacuees are being housed there.
The center is simply a place where evacuees can go to apply for various types of assistance from organizations like the Red Cross, United Way, Small Business Administration and Mississippi Association of Realtors.
Housing grants, job opportunities, counseling both legal and psychological, free phone and internet services, and medical examinations ? it’s all available to evacuees at the resource center.
Even local members of the clergy roam the center, comforting and talking with evacuees.
T.J. Ray, a retired Ole Miss professor and Red Cross volunteer, said he’s seen ‘utter despair? among the evacuees.
‘They’ve lost everything. They’re wiped out,? Ray said. ‘You hear talk that can only be interpreted as suicidal.?
‘You see people just sit here with tears in their eyes.?
Ray described the hurricane victims as ‘docile? overall.
‘The day we opened this place was full of people,? he explained. ‘We had people sit there nine hours ? never stirred, never said ‘Is it my turn?,? never tried to push in line.?
Whether Oxford’s resource center will remain open or close its doors is uncertain at press time, according to Clark. ‘We’re takin? it day-by-day.?
‘They’re opening a bunch of centers south of us now,? Clark said. ‘We’ll be the tail-end of (the relief efforts) and we’re probably going to scale it back to having just the local agencies take care of it.?