Hurricane Evacuee Council Bay Area

Hurricane Evacuees Council/Bay Area
c/o Box 14512 San Francisco CA 94114 phone/fax 415-626-4114

email sf@crossroadswomen.net

Demands of the Hurricane Evacuees Council/ Bay Area Sign on to Support!



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, AC 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; ; quality education for our children, address any needs they have related to the trauma of this experience; 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@crossroadswomen.net



HECBA is a network of evacuees, led by evacuees and facilitated by the Women’s Caucus of the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund and the Global Women’s Strike/SF Bay Area

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