Annie Susan Jones and her family checked into Motel 6 on Sunday with plans to spend one, two, maybe three nights in Bossier City. But Wednesday, the New Orleans resident left the hotel searching for temporary work and a place to stay in the surrounding area.
"I'm going to the School Board office to see if I can substitute teach," said Jones, an elementary schoolteacher. "We need to do something. We've been told that we can't go home until (Sunday). We just can't sit on our dumps and get put out of this room."
Jones' family of three traveled to the Ark-La-Tex with four other families from the Crescent City. But while fleeing their homes to higher ground, the families are spending a lot of money just on the essentials """" food, gas, lodging and personal items.
"We've spent about $2,000 that was meant for mortgages and bills. We are literally spending money that we don't have," Jones said.
And they're not the only evacuees from the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina who have begun to run out of money for food and lodging.
Loyola University student Derek Breaux of Kenner is headed to the Dallas area today to seek employment. Wednesday, he had $30 in his checking account doubts about whether that would be enough to make it to Texas.
"At this point, I will do anything for money," the 21-year-old said. "We know we have nothing to go home to. We want to leave here, so it's like where do we go and how. We don't have nothing."
Jean Simpson Personnel Services Inc. is putting evacuees to work. By noon Wednesday, at least three residents of the New Orleans area had been placed into temporary positions. Administrators are preparing to place more.
Sandra Braddock, company president, said the applicants began inquiring about work Tuesday. "This is just the beginning of the iceberg. We are looking forward to helping a lot of people. We are anxious to help these people find jobs and even work clothes."
The company is delivering flyers to area hotels and shelters to announce employment opportunities, Braddock said.
Officials with Adecco Employment Services also are getting inquiries from displaced residents and are contacting local employers.
"We are working to let them know we have an influx of people coming in and to call us if they have anything for a day or two. These people need money," said Tammy Rhodes, branch manager.
Other storm refugees who are financially strapped worry about whether direct deposits from Social Security will be available for withdrawal this weekend.
While most coastal residents are accustomed to hurricane season, they never got used to the emotional and physical drain of picking up and leaving.
Bringing no more than an overnight bag and a change of clothes, several families were unprepared for what appears to be a long stay away from home. Fredrick Prelow and his family checked out of Howard Johnson Express Inn at Hearne Avenue at Interstate 20 in Shreveport on Wednesday and headed to stay with relatives in DeSoto Parish. After three nights in the hotel, he said he couldn't afford it anymore.
"I have a wife and two children, with no money and no income," Prelow, 34, said. "I have to buy food, diapers. And it's all costing too much. We don't know when we will get back to New Orleans. And the insurance company said they need to get in and assess the damages before they can help us out."
The average hotel stay in the Shreveport/Bossier City area is about three nights, then the evacuees are moving on. Some are going to relatives, others to shelters and still others are undecided, according to hotel managers.
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