Senior Citizens In Desperate Need Of Flood Clean Up Assistace

Neighborhood Centers
Friday, 15 June 2001

HOUSTON (06/18/01) - More than 200 Houston area senior citizens remain on a waiting list to receive help removing wet carpet and furniture, cleaning up mud and disinfecting walls and floors in the wake of Tropical Storm Allison. Volunteers are desperately needed to continue the work done this weekend by 35 teams of corporate volunteers assigned to individuals registered with Neighborhood Centers Inc.'s Home Clean Up Assistance for Seniors Help Line.

While this disaster has taken its toll on so many Houstonians, the area's senior citizens are most in danger of suffering long-term physical and financial burdens as a result of widespread flooding. Frail, frightened and unable to remove wet furniture or carpet, many flooded seniors are still sleeping on wet beds. The lack of hot water due to damaged water heaters as well as the damage to stoves and refrigerators is making a return to normalcy impossible. As the mold and mildew continue to grow, respiratory problems will likely reach epidemic proportions in this population if flood-soaked items are not removed and floors and walls disinfected.

"We are in desperate need of large numbers of volunteers, ideally organized in teams of four or five, to call in and be assigned to a senior citizen in need of help," said NCI President and CEO Angela Blanchard. The organization is seeking to partner with churches and other organizations that can quickly and effectively mobilize groups of volunteers to bring aid to individuals still waiting to be helped.

Reports from those in the field indicate that as seniors wait for help, the state of their physical and mental health is deteriorating. Volunteer Tom Dawson, with Arthur Andersen Risk Consulting, who organized a team of fellow employees and cleaned the home of one senior flood victim, was deeply concerned by the state in which he found her. "When we arrived she was so distraught she had only slept twelve hours in the past week and was not able to eat," said Dawson.

Companies and organizations that are willing to assemble teams and join the clean-up effort should call NCI Director of Executive Communications Rima Bonario at 713-669-5222. Seniors in need of help should call 713-273-3103 between 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and provide their name, address, telephone number, size of home and brief description of their clean up needs to receive assistance. Callers will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Donations of cleaning supplies such as gloves, mops, brooms, towels, garbage bags, buckets, detergents, disinfectants, and bleach, as well as food and toiletries, may be made at two NCI locations Harbach-Ripley Community Center, 6225 Northdale, 77087, on Houston's south side, 713-641-6321and Cleveland-Ripey Community Center, 720 Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena, TX 77504, 713-944-9186. Volunteers are also needed at these locations to help sort donations and deliver supplies to senior flood victims who are unable to get to shelters and relief centers.

NCI is one of the largest private, locally-based, nonprofit, social service agency in the country, annually serving more than 250,000 low-income, Houston area residents. Programs include community center programs, Head Start, a 13-county subsidized child care program, after-school youth activities and senior services. NCI services are provided in more than 50 locations throughout the Greater Houston area. For more information, visit the NCI website at www.neighborhood-centers.org.

For more information, or to contact Neighborhood Centers, see their website at: www.neighborhood-centers.org