Mic Barnette
PO Box 57 Corsicanna, TX 75151
September 16, 2017
Following are some basic observations of my experiences serving as a volunteer at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Downtown Dallas for both Hurricane Katrine in 2005 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017. It is not intended to be a history of or tell the complete story of either hurricane.
The Dallas convention center served as one of the shelters to Katrina Hurricane evacuees from New Orleans in 2005 and evacuees from the Houston, Beaumont and Vidor areas for Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
I don’t remember a lot about what went on at the shelter in 2005. Evacuees were housed in the parking lot floors of the convention center under the direction of the Red Cross. The Salvation Army oversaw feeding the people several times a day.
The Red Cross set up the facility prior to the evacuees arriving. Their beds were cots, probably new cots or at least sanitized previous to being delivered to the center. On the cot was a canvas or other material, non-white sheet and a Red Cross blanket.
There were tables set up in several locations serving free water and small candy-like snacks.
As evacuees arrived at the facility they went through a review process of registering to stay at the center. They were asked who they were, their address and any special needs they may have required. There were representatives from a number of governmental and nonprofit agencies whose duties were to help them get through their ordeal. One such organization would likely have been FEMA.
There was a Red Cross list of evacuees that was designed to help others find people staying at the shelter. When one left the shelter their name was taken off the list.
As I recall there was a serious problem, in general, of trying to find evacuees. During Katrina as there were multiple lists in multiple places throughout the United States and knowing which list a relative or friend may have signed up on was a real nightmare. Due to cellphones, Facebook, and other forms of social media knowing where friends or family members were was less a problem during Hurricane Harvey
There was a command center in a room near the dorm. Different governmental Emergency Management organizations had their command centers in this room. Included were local state and federal police agencies, fire department, National Guard or Reserves.
Most of my tenure during Katrina was overseeing the dorm area. I was there to help people if they needed additional blankets, give directions to areas within the shelter, such as restrooms, showers, etc and other things to help them feel comfortable during their stay.
My time volunteering during Hurricane Harvey was slightly more varied than during Katrina. It is quite probable most of the same services I saw being offered during Harvey were likely also offered during Katrina. It is just that I served in the dorm area during Katrina and in additional areas during Harvey.
One time I oversaw the dorm area and other times I was called a “runner” and stationed in the registration area. Once one completed registration a “runner” would escort them to the dorm area where they would be assigned to a dorm area based on their family make-up.
The layout of the shelter was familiar to me as it was the same area in the convention center used during Katrina. Most everything was on the same parking lot floor as with Katrina.
Registration was on the west side of the building. This is where evacuees would register to stay in the shelter. They needed a picture ID. They would give their name, address, telephone numbers, etc. If they needed special assistance such as FEMA, help from the Veterans Administration, Social Security, or medical needs this is the area where they would have registered or learned where to go to get that type of help.
In the dorm areas families- men, women and children held the bulk of the dorm space. In another area there was a single-women area and in another area there was the single men area. There was even an area near the clinic where people needing hospital beds or medical attention were housed.
During registration there were medical personnel to evaluate medical needs. If a person needed prescription medicines they failed to bring with them they would be directed to an on-site pharmacy. If they had other medical needs they would be directed to a non-emergency type medical clinic. For people with severe medical needs they may have been evacuated to an area hospital.
My duties in the dorm area were much the same as during Katrina. During Harvey we did however, have people arrive after others had left the shelter to return home. For these people we had to locate clean cots as those of the departed people had been removed. For sanitary reasons cots could only be used one time.
Major efforts were maintained to keep the area sanitized. As a “runner” I was constantly going from the registration area to the dorm area and each time one passed a particular point there was someone standing at strategic points with a bottle of sanitizing lotion.
As one entered the shelter for the first time, they entered through the west entrance and went through the screening process. Which is described elsewhere.
After being screened a dorm pass was given to the “runner” and he/she asked the person/persons to sit in a waiting area “ to complete their registration”. The runner would then take the registration information to a law enforcement desk where the law enforcement official would conduct a criminal check. I had a man and his fiancé I was helping who did not pass muster. Initially the first screener, a sergeant from the State Adjutants office had a grimace on his face. He turned to the Dallas police officer. They has a conversation whereby they thought to man was the same they had found on the computer but the address was different than the registration stated. One of the officers went to the man and had a conversation. The law enforcement people deferred the card to the Red Cross Red Cross person in charge who later took the couple to another area and I never saw them again. I do not know if they went to another shelter or a homeless shelter in downtown Dallas or elsewhere.