FWD:RSD Hope Information for people displaced by hurricane Katrina

RSD In the News : FWD:RSD Hope Information for people displaced by hurricane Katrina
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From: byrd45 (Original Message) Sent: 9/2/2005 4:18 PM
Go to the website for more links:

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/emergency/

Social Security Information for People Affected by Hurricane Katrina The Social Security Administration is doing everything it can to ensure that monthly payments get to beneficiaries affected by Hurricane Katrina.

For paper checks

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has suspended mail service in some areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina. USPS is establishing temporary mail delivery stations so you can pick up your Social Security check. To find these locations, check the USPS National Mail Service Update page.

To help prevent identity fraud, USPS will ask you for a photo ID.

If you are not able to go to a temporary mail delivery station, you can go to any open Social Security office and request an immediate payment.

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For Direct Deposit

If you receive your Social Security payment by direct deposit, your Social Security payment is scheduled to be deposited to your account as usual. However, if you experience any difficulty getting your payment, you can go to any open Social Security office and request an immediate payment.

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Closed Social Security Offices

As of 9/1/05 the following Social Security offices are closed:

Louisiana

o New Orleans Downtown

o New Orleans Bywater

o New Orleans East

o New Orleans Westbank

o Kenner

o Hammond

o Covington

o Bogalusa

o New Orleans Teleservice Center

o Office of Hearings and Appeals, Metairie

o Office of Hearings and Appeals, New Orleans

o Disability Determination Services, New Orleans (Metairie)

Mississippi

o Gulfport (Closed indefinitely)

o Moss Point (Closed indefinitely)

o Biloxi (Closed indefinitely)

o Meridian (No Power)

o Hattiesburg (No Power)

o Laurel (No Power)

o Mississippi Disability Determination Services (should be reopened

by Tuesday, September 6, 2005.)

o Office of Hearings and Appeals, Hattiesburg (No Power)

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For more information on the nearest open Social Security office, you can call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

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Go to the website for Other Useful links:

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/emergency/

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FirstGov: Hurricane Katrina Recovery (en Espaqol)

USPS National Mail Service Update page

American Red Cross:

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o Call 1-800-HELPNOW (1-800-435-7669)

o Get disaster information in English and en Espaqol.

CDC: Hurricane Katrina (en Espaqol)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) HHS, Administration on Aging: Disaster Preparedness Manual for the Aging Network

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AS BAD AS WE HAVE OUR PAIN DAYS FOLKS, WE HAVE FOOD, WATER, SHELTER, MEDICATION, AND FOR MOST - FAMILY/FRIENDS. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS AND HELP IF YOU CAN.

As to giving to help the relief effort, The American Red Cross is always a safe bet to send money to.

We have at least a dozen members of our organization, the RSDHope family, down in those states affected by katrina. Please, if you are one of them and were able to get to a safe place and someone has gotten you this message, get word to us or to your loved ones on the internet so they can get word to others so they can all know ou are safe. Lelt us know what is happening down there, if there are things you can share with us to help others with disabilities transition back to a sense of normalcy, email us and share it with us.

And hats off to all the volunteers and servicemen and women from all over the country who have gone donw to the New orleans area and the surrounding areas to do whatever is necessary to help take care of our people. We can worry about the blame game later, let's take all of our efforts and time right now and sink them into finding solutions to helping our people get their lives back together.
Keith

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In the News: Katrina and People with Disabilities Compiled by ADA Watch/NCDR www.adawatch.org


September 1, 2005

>From Scripps Howard News Service:

Tens of thousands of people with advanced medical needs have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and thousands more are hurt or will sustain injuries and illnesses during the long recovery ahead for the four-state zone hammered by the storm.

Yet over much of the affected Gulf Coast region, hospitals, nursing homes and group homes have been left so damaged or cut off from supplies that they must be abandoned. Some 4,800 patients have been evacuated to other cities, or are still trying to get out of the disaster zone in and around New Orleans, officials said.

According to the Census Bureau, 15 percent of New Orleans' residents aged

5 and older have some type of disability, and it appears certain that much of their city won't have any housing to offer them for months, perhaps years.

"I don't think there's any recent precedent for taking care of a large, medically fragile population like that for the length of time they're likely to have to be in temporary shelter," said Patrick Libbey, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. "We may have to rethink what we mean by the terms 'temporary'

and 'interim.' "