Red Cross ready to take in 600 more hurricane victims

North County Times
September 5, 2005
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

With 80 Gulf Coast evacuees already in San Diego, Red Cross officials were preparing Monday to provide shelter for 600 more Hurricane Katrina victims.

San Diego State University officials offered the school's Peterson Gymnasium as a temporary shelter, and the Red Cross was awaiting word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"We are ready as soon as we get the word," said Red Cross spokeswoman Gayle Falkenthal. "We would keep them in the shelter for a matter of days, not weeks, and then hopefully have them moved into temporary housing."

At Kearny High School in northeastern San Diego, a temporary shelter was dismantled Monday after all the dozens of evacuees flown to the city by Carmel Valley oil company executive David Perez were put up for the night in a downtown hotel.

Earlier in the day, the group went on a shopping trip. Monday evening they were to attend a barbecue near the beach.

Perez said he would return to the Louisiana capital of Baton Rouge today and vowed to bring another three planeloads of hurricane victims from the New Orleans area to San Diego. If he does, those people would be in addition to the 600 people the Red Cross says it is ready to shelter.

"My heart goes out to all these people," said Perez, spent about $250,000 of his own money on his non-sanctioned rescue and relief efforts. "There's no red tape with me. I've been able to take my own resources and put them to work.

"I was tired of sitting back," the 43-year-old chief operating officer and chairman of the board of Surge Global Energy said. "We have to lead by example, and I'll be back doing that tomorrow."

At times frenetic during his whirlwind weekend, Perez said he was beginning "to come down a little bit" but was still working the telephone to arrange for the delivery of more medical supplies, food and other goods to the stricken region.

A displaced New Orleans mother and daughter who climbed aboard the Boeing 737 Perez leased on Sunday said that after spending the night in San Diego, they considered themselves blessed.

"God is good and mercy is everlasting," said Katie Johnson, who along with her 15-year-old daughter, Calrika, spoke to reporters before climbing aboard a bus Perez leased to take the evacuees shopping.

Each of the 36 families who spent the night at the high school were given Red Cross debit cards to make essential purchases.

After that excursion, Perez was hosting the group at an outdoor barbecue before busing them to a Hyatt hotel for the night. Starting today, the Red Cross and those working with Perez will be trying to arrange more permanent shelter.

One of those who showed up at the before the high school shelter was shut down was Jim Hoffmann, an attorney for Qualcomm who said he has a two-bedroom apartment next to his Rancho Santa Fe home that a family can use.

"It's empty," Hoffman said, adding that his wife and he always believed they should "help individuals whenever we can."

Perez said his efforts have drawn the attention of business executive and others from throughout the United States. His telephone has been ringing incessantly and he has received hundreds of e-mails from people offering help, he said.

After initial skepticism of Perez's effort, local Red Cross and FEMA officials scrambled Sunday to prepare to shelter and provide essential needs to those Perez brought to San Diego from the Baton Rouge area.

Richard Ledford, chairman of the board of the San Diego-Imperial Red Cross, accompanied Perez and his wife to the Kearny Mesa shelter on Monday.

Ledford described the weekend rescue mission as an example of someone relying on his own moxie to go around official channels and accomplish what he set out to do.

"We are somewhat in awe of what he has done," Ledford said. "He is a remarkable person and we are lucky to have him in this community and in this country."

Perez said that he and the Red Cross were now "in synch" and that any future relief efforts would involve the agency.

An evacuee from New Orleans who was flown to San Diego three days before the hurricane struck also showed up at the high school Monday seeking help from the Red Cross.

Travis Nelson, 25, produced a Louisiana driver's license and said his sister was stationed aboard the USS Ronald Reagan and could not offer him shelter. Nelson was told to call the Red Cross hotline at 1-800 RED CROSS to arrange for help.

"I just want to be able to live comfortably," Nelson said. "I'll go anywhere."