Health and Safety Officials Prepare for Arrival of Gulf Coast Evacuees

Health and Safety Officials Prepare for Arrival of Gulf Coast Evacuees

American Red Cross, United Way, Law Enforcement, Transit and Health and Social Service Providers to Open Service Center for Evacuees

Gulf Coast evacuees are already arriving Champaign County, and health and safety officials are opening an Evacuee Service Center tomorrow to help the new arrivals find shelter, food and other essential services. The Service Center will be open to all Gulf Coast evacuees in Champaign County, even those who are already housed.

The Katrina Evacuee Service Center will open tomorrow at 8 a.m. in Room #403 of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Illinois Terminal, 45 E. University, in Champaign. The Center will be open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. – until the flow of newcomers displaced from areas affected by Hurricane Katrina begins to ebb. The Center will remain open as long as the need continues.

At the Service Center, evacuees from the Gulf Coast will receive assistance from the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Red Cross, the United Way of Champaign County, local medical personnel, Public Health nurses, Salvation Army volunteers and community social workers and mental health providers. Here are some of the services to be provided at the Center:

• The local chapter of the American Red Cross will help evacuees find shelter, food, clothing and referrals to other services.
• Doctors and other medical personnel (from Planned Parenthood, Frances Nelson, Carle Clinic, Carle Foundation Hospital, Christie Clinic, Hermes Medical Student Clinic and others) will offer medical screenings, emergency medicines and prescriptions.
• Nurses from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District will offer TB tests, Hepatitis A, Tetanus and Diptheria vaccines as needed, as well as referrals to other Public Health services.
• The United Way of Champaign County will provide assistance and referrals to many other community services.
• The local chapter of the Salvation Army and the Champaign County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau will provide information about other community resources.
• Evacuees from the Gulf Coast and others seeking information about services provided locally may call the local chapter of the American Red Cross at (217) 351-5861.

A Champaign County Emergency Response website is also available at: www.cuphd.org/katrinahelp

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Download 2005-09-06-evacuees-PR