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Sep 3, 2008 5:04 pm US/Central
Some Gustav Evacuees Upset About 'Lack Of Help'
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Hundreds of Hurricane Gustav evacuees in North Texas are packing up and heading home, but many are not happy about what they call a lack of help from the government.
For most, the complaints refer to gas money. Some of the evacuees say they're angry that the government mandated the evacuation and didn't supply them with monetary support to get back home.
"We're not getting any help," said Beaumont evacuee Pamela Pickney. "We waited but they said there was no gas assistance."
The expectation of monetary assistance has some Gustav evacuees upset. "It was a mandatory evacuation," explained Cudrea Townsel who is upset about the situation. "And now FEMA and the Red Cross is not helping us out and we think that's very wrong."
Beaumont evacuee Bobby Bickney said, "But I know next time it'll be a problem for me to evacuate because they showed me that they didn't even try and help us. I'll just stick it out next time."
In response to the uproar the City of Dallas released a statement that said – "Unfortunately the state did not work out anything on assistance for those who need gas money. So we will now turn to local charities and other resources to assist with this."
Meanwhile, many cities in Texas and Louisiana, that had mandatory evacuations, are allowing residents to return.
The City of Dallas says their shelter will remain open as long as it is needed. At one point the Dallas Convention Center was filled to capacity.
Some evacuees at the Dallas shelter say they were treated poorly. "We've been treated like dogs, or prisoners. Held in; locked up," claims Townsel. But the Port Arthur evacuee admitted one thing was up to par. "They fed us good though," she said.
Not all who evacuated to North Texas had feelings of discontent. "It was pretty good, the hospitality of Dallas is awesome," Lake Charles evacuee Mike Harris said. "I'm just excited about getting to go home."
Louisiana evacuee Amanda Hayford said all of her needs were met. "They supplied everything ya know. They gave us diapers and wipes, fed us real good. "It was wonderful."
Some of the evacuees came to Dallas in buses. Wednesday afternoon Dallas County sent charter buses, provided by the state, to the Dallas Convention Center to begin taking evacuee back to their Louisiana Parishes.
Only evacuees whose parishes are "open" will be allowed to board the buses.
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