September 23, 2008
Shelter system will be retooled, official vows: Storm spotlighted gaps in supplies, services
by Bill Barrow, The Times-Picayune
BATON ROUGE — The interim state Social Services chief promised Monday a complete overhaul of Louisiana’s hurricane evacuee sheltering system to correct problems that contributed to the departure of her predecessor.
In her first extended public comment on the matter, Kristy Nichols said the Department of Social Services, the agency tasked with sheltering residents during an emergency, had an inadequate plan to deal with evacuating the entire Louisiana coastline, with its population approaching 2 million. And, she said, acceptable parts of the plan were not executed properly.
The result was that thousands of south Louisiana residents, already dependent on public transportation to get away from the coastline, were housed in state-run facilities that lacked enough running water, showers and supplies. Other facilities that expected to receive state assistance, also faced supply shortages.
In a 10-page memo to Gov. Bobby Jindal, Nichols cited poor planning and poor communication as the culprit. Nichols said an ongoing assessment will yield a “unified sheltering plan” for the state instead of a piecemeal approach that provided less detailed guidelines for coordination among state-run shelters, parish shelters and those run by private organizations such as the Red Cross.
She promised a short-term sheltering plan by Oct. 3, with a comprehensive plan for future hurricane seasons due by Nov. 30. The comprehensive plan will follow a “sheltering summit” in October for state and local emergency managers, Red Cross and other private groups, along with DSS officials.
As an immediate fix, Nichols said the state, partnering with parish-run shelters, will expand its capacity for critical transportation needs shelters from about 10,000 to more than 15,000. She also pledged that state shelters would be staffed and equipped with basic supplies before opening, unlike some during Gustav, and that communication protocols will be spelled out for non-state shelters seeking state assistance for supplies.
Her report does not call for ending the practice of segregating the state shelters, used exclusively for people dependent on public transportation, from shelters run by parishes and private organizations for residents who evacuate on their own. But her report promised that the state facilities, such as the old Sam’s Club in Shreveport and vacated Wal-Mart in Bastrop, will be improved with dividers to improve privacy for residents.
Advocacy groups and residents have blasted the communal layout of those facilities, and the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice has called for the state to stop segregating shelters based on evacuation classifications.
Nichols said she is meeting with New Orleans area evacuee advocates Thursday. She said the October summit also will include public input.
A primary goal of the process, she said, will be increasing the overall capacity, in addition to the short-term capacity increase for state-run facilities. It was known before Gustav that the state’s existing plan accounted for fewer than 120,000 people, less than half of the estimated demand created by a mandatory evacuation of all 12 coastal parishes.
The preliminary plan mentions expanded use of government buildings such as schools and university campuses, along with partnerships with military barracks and private properties, including hotels.
Asked whether the state ever can reach a quarter-million threshold, she said, “It’s too soon for me to know.”
But she said the experiences of Gustav will not be repeated.
“We have an obligation to coordinate at all levels,” Nichols said.
As for why supplies and amenities were short during Gustav, Nichols cited execution, rather than the existing state sheltering plan. She has confirmed that DSS did not notify its pre-storm sheltering contractor until Aug. 31, one day before Gustav’s arrival, and that the state did not ask the contractor to secure portable showers until Sept. 1. They arrived within the required 96 hours after that notification.
Nichols said she could not say who was responsible for those oversights, but indicated that she believes the contract with OK’s Cascade of Washington state is sufficient if executed properly.
Since Nichols took over for former Secretary Ann Williamson, two of the agency’s top deputies, Terri Ricks and Edward Ashworth, have left their jobs.
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Bill Barrow can be reached at bbarrow@timespicayune.com or 225.342.5590.
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