Refugees Settle In, Look Forward To Months, Or Longer, in N.M
By Mark Evans/
Associated Press
On Sunday, a dazed Deborah Stockman nibbled on cold pizza as she recalled in grim detail the dead bodies she'd seen, the horror of New Orleans still alive in her mind. William Ellis, cane in hand, gingerly and wearily stepped off a bus and into a strange city, hours after a helicopter swooped down to pluck him off a Louisiana rooftop.
Two days later, both hurricane refugees were settling in to Albuquerque, still stunned by the tragic turn of events but taking steps to navigate their futures.
Stockman, with deep family roots in the Gulf Coast, wants to head back to New Orleans, but she's not sure when. Ellis is thinking of making New Mexico his permanent home — starting a new life in a new town, on his own.
"I've got no complaints with what's gone on here, in this place,'' he said Tuesday from the city's cavernous convention center, where about 45 refugees were being sheltered. "Everybody here's been real cool. Now I just need a place to call home — not a cot.''
Stockman, 42, managed a laugh while watching her two teenage sons scour the Internet for part-time work. Stockman, a hospital technician, was trying to reach her former employer in Louisiana for help in landing a similar job in New Mexico.
To keep busy, the boys had gone to a University of New Mexico football game Monday, followed by a movie downtown.
"That's to keep them functioning, you know,'' she said. "I think once they get into an apartment or a home, that they'll feel better.''
Stockman had managed only a few cat naps since she and her family settled in a safely protected corner spot of the convention center. "Enough rest to function,'' she said of her sleep pattern.
Ellis, 55, was sitting comfortably in front of a TV, next in line for help in filling out forms that he hopes will keep his disability payments coming.
He shuddered as a CNN anchor relayed word on how many might be dead in his former town: 10,000.
"I knew some of those people. How many, I don't know,'' he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Ninety-three refugees landed here Sunday, but about half have found hotels or family members to put them up while they decide their longer-term futures. Those still at the convention center will likely be placed in residences by Thursday, said Mayor Marty Chavez.
Chavez said more than 1,000 homes across the state have been registered to take hurricane evacuees — enough space for 3,050 people.
"We're ready to start moving them to the next step of their lives,'' the mayor said.
No one was certain if or when New Mexico would get more refugees. Kathy Komoll, an American Red Cross spokeswoman, said she'd heard that Albuquerque was among possible destinations for one flight Tuesday with 40 passengers, a rumor that persisted throughout the day.
"We're on standby,'' she said. "It's a very fluid situation.''
Komoll said New Mexicans have overwhelmed service agencies with offers of assistance and goods, including food, clothing and toys, to storm victims. At this point, cash donations are most urgently needed, she said.
One less tangible gift came Tuesday from the federal government: a special zip code, just for the refugees.
State agencies also began coordinating help. The evacuees could sign up for post office box numbers, food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment assistance, social security assistance and identification cards.
"Caseworkers are determining what services are needed and in many instances the evacuees are able to receive services immediately,'' said Liz Stefanics, deputy secretary with the Human Services Department.
Most will be assigned an Electronics Benefit Card and be able to buy food at local grocery stores within a day. State labor department officials were helping refugees find work.
"Some of these folks may be calling New Mexico home for a while and are anxious to start working,'' said Conroy Chino, secretary of the state Labor Department.
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