Uncertainty's Second Wave
Hurricane Katrina Evacuees Face Life After the D.C. Armory
By Theola S. Labbe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 14, 2005; Page B01
The shelter for New Orleans evacuees at the D.C. Armory was about to close, but Stella Oselem wasn't worried. After weeks of kindness from strangers, Oselem, 78, decided to accept an offer to live in a private D.C. home with someone who shared her Jehovah's Witness faith.
But soon after she moved in, her host went on a trip and put her with another family. Then, about a week later, the second host told her to leave to make room for out-of-town family members, Oselem said.
With dwindling options, she found herself this week at a walk-in center for Hurricane Katrina evacuees at D.C. General Hospital. She clutched a white slip of paper, a referral for a hotel in Rockville.
"Thank God I got it," Oselem said of the 14-day hotel voucher sponsored by the American Red Cross. Her social worker said she would try to get Oselem's name on a federal housing list for a senior citizen apartment.
SHE WAS A SENIOR CITIZEN FOR GOODNESS SAKE! I GUESS THAT'S AGAPE LOVE FOR YOU.