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Ike Evacuees Calling Austin Home For Now
By Kathryn | September 14, 2008
More than 3,000 people have landed in Austin’s temporary shelters as they try to escape the devastation that Hurricane Ike has caused further south in Texas. An additional unknown number of evacuees are staying in Austin hotels for the same reason. Although these people will eventually be returning to their own homes, the city of Austin has welcomed them with open arms during their time of need.
The city of Austin has erected more than twenty different temporary shelters for people to live in while they are waiting to be able to return home to cities like Houston and Galveston. Some of these people are already starting to head out of the shelters this weekend but many others plan to remain in Austin a little bit longer while the devastation at home gets sorted out.
During the time that these evacuees are staying in Austin, they are being assisted in a variety of different ways. In addition to the shelter that they are receiving, they are able to get food in the shelter as the result of donations collected by the Capital Area Food Bank. Donations have come in from Austin residents living all throughout the city and the surrounding area. Evacuees are also able to get around the city for free using Austin’s bus system which won’t charge fares to anyone wearing a shelter wristband.
This is a testimony to the fact that although Austin has a tight-knit community of its own, the city is always willing to extend that sense of home to others coming to them from throughout the rest of the state (and other parts of the nation as well). This is one of the things that residents love about Austin and one of the things that is getting strengthened every day as the Austin community continues to come together.
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