A Little Town in Texas Lays Out the Welcome Mat -- and More

Brenda Reed, a retired beautician and member of a group called Women of Faith, was determined Saturday to help the Katrina evacuees staying at the Lakeview Methodist Conference Center in the pine-tree country of East Texas.

“We’re going to wash, cut, curl and everything else these ladies need to feel good about themselves,” said Reed, her voice a boisterous singsong. “Everybody is going to look good today.”

Even before Reed and two other volunteers set up their hairdryer and arranged their bottles of hair products, the evacuees sat eagerly in chairs. They’ve had a trying couple of weeks, and the idea of having their hair fussed over made them smile.

Until Katrina struck, these evacuees had lived in a dozen group homes in the New Orleans area run by Volunteers of America for mentally disabled children and adults.

When the wind and water began assaulting New Orleans and its suburbs, Volunteers of America, a national faith-based organization, ordered an immediate evacuation of its group homes in the affected areas.

A caravan of two buses and six vans hurriedly took the group to Houston as the levees broke, staying first in a hotel and then in a crowded shelter before coming to the center in Palestine, about 150 miles north of Houston.

Even when it looked as if the only housing available in Houston had broken toilets and rampant cockroaches, Volunteers of America counselors said they were not discouraged.

“I knew God was going to provide for us,” said Voris Vigee, a Volunteers of America official in New Orleans. “Never did I think, ‘This is the end of the line for us.’ ”

Through an intermediary in the Christian community, Vigee was put in touch with the Rev. Von Dawson, director of the Lakeview Methodist Conference Center. “He was God-sent,” Vigee said.

Last Sunday, the caravan arrived at the conference center: 79 mentally disabled children, adults, their caregivers and their caregivers’ families -- 171 people in all. Dawson set them up in the dormitories, put the cafeteria staff in high gear and appealed to the community for help.

Palestine (pronounced pal-US-steen), population 18,000, has come running.

Piles of bedding, clothing and toiletry products were donated. The nursing program at the Tyler campus of the University of Texas provided students to help with medications and other chores.

A psychiatrist is checking on the evacuees; a Catholic priest will say Mass today.

A local school found room in its special-education program for a dozen school-age evacuees, even though it will mean hiring more instructional aides. The director of a social services program for the disabled has enrolled several of the adults.

Dozens of volunteers have flocked to the 1,300-acre conference center -- which is a site for Methodist summer camp and, in the fall, freshman orientation for Texas A&M; students. A deal has been worked out for the nearby state prison to do the heavy laundry.

On Saturday, adults and children were busy with games and other activities in the center’s multipurpose room, which serves as a chapel and recreation room.

“I love this place,” said George Kent, who turned 50 on Friday and was buoyed by the fact that his parents and niece -- who also fled the storm -- were safe in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Donna Papania, 41, said she liked the center and was eager to have her hair styled but added: “I miss my home in Louisiana. I hope we can go home soon.”

Of the 79 evacuees who lived in the New Orleans-area group homes, all are mentally retarded; some also have other disabilities, including cerebral palsy. Some are ambulatory, others not. Ages range from 5 to 67.

The move from New Orleans was unsettling, particularly for a group that needs a steady routine to remain comfortable, said Volunteers of America official Angela King. Many were unable to comprehend why they had to leave their homes.

“We’re trying to reassure them,” she said. “For those who cannot express their concerns, it’s important to get a routine going.”

Just how long the group will stay at the center is unknown. Methodist churches through the Katrina zone are helping evacuees. Dawson said he was prepared to keep them indefinitely, particularly given the number of volunteers.

Dawson recalled one guy, “a typical East Texas redneck with a pickup,” who arrived with a truck full of diapers and food.

Tim Kozik, who runs an assisted-living residence for the elderly, was among the volunteers Saturday; he folded clothes. He said he found nothing unusual about the outpouring of support from Palestine.

“I just call it good old East Texas hospitality,” he said.

Dawson, a self-described “fourth-generation United Methodist preacher,” had a different explanation. He figured Katrina was a wake-up call.

“I think people saw what nature can do to us and figured we better stick together,” he said.