Columbus, Georgia

Columbus one-stop shop provides a great example

On Friday, Sept. 2, a meeting was held to determine the community response to

the influx of evacuees into the Columbus, Ga., area. Already sitting in

shelters were 600 evacuees with more coming. What could they do? By the

following Thursday a one-stop shop was set up to aid victims of Hurricane

Katrina, and hundreds of volunteers stood waiting to help.

The variety of agencies that has come together under one roof is impressive.

The Red Cross, United Way, Social Security, DFACS and Goodwill, along with

public health, law enforcement, the Salvation Army and Fort Benning (many of

the displaced were military families). Also at the one stop are real estate

companies, Legal Aid and public housing. Contact 2-1-1, an information referral

agency, is there to help coordinate volunteers and other services. Second

Harvest Food Bank and other area food banks are handing out much-welcome items

to people who have been living on Military Ready to Eat meals. The Labor

Department is there signing people up for unemployment benefits and to aid with

job searches. The public school and university systems are registering

displaced students. The city bus system is handing out free bus passes so

evacuees can get around town. Donated computers are available so evacuees can

try to find loved ones on the Internet. A Medical unit is set up, off site,

where people can be sent to be treated. While adults go through the screening

process, their children can stay in the supervised day care area. The evacuees

can even get counseling services for free.

Guy Simms, president of the area's United Way, said it was quickly apparent

that having all of the services under one roof would allow them to address the

needs of the evacuees "more efficiently and better." As of Monday, the one-stop

center had serviced 1,357 people. Across the Chattahoochee River in Phenix

City, Ala., also part of the collaborative, its one-stop center has had 300

evacuees pass through its doors.

How was Columbus able to pull off such a feat so quickly? Pamela Siddall,

publisher of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, said it's hard to explain. She

attributes it to what she calls, "Columbus culture." "This is what makes

Columbus so unique," she said.

It is a culture more communities could emulate. In Bibb County, various

agencies are coming together to duplicate the Columbus one-stop idea here. One

of the proposed sites is the closed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary

School on Shurling Drive. There are estimates that our area could see 10,000

evacuees, but know one really knows. The faith community in both areas has been

so strong that getting a hard number of evacuees is impossible if they haven't

gone through the Red Cross. There will be time to count later. Now is the time

to serve.