Wednesday, November 23, 2005

11/19 Cuba and Little Haiti

Up at 5 AM. Tracy and I rode in with Bill and Marian because Marcia had a day off. Had breakfast at a Cuban restaurant. Excellent toast and coffee. Yum.

Then Marian, Bill and I were assigned to Little Haiti where whole apartment buildings had been condemned and families were given 24-hour notice to leave. The caseworkers wrote nearly 60 901s and gave out that many CACs. 901s are the forms they fill out if we've assessed their homes were damaged enough from the hurricane. (Duh, a no-brainer on this one.) CACs are Client Assistance Cards--the Red Cross doesn't give money but gives a debit card with money on it. Very smart, I think.

I gave out so many stuffed animals and coloring books and played with so many children. There was only one who I thought should be formally evaluated but Mom and kids disappeared after I said that. Most likely they are here illegally from Haiti and Mom was frightened. We don't care about that, but I can understand her fear. Fortunately I had already talked to her about how she can help her daughter, so I'm sure it will turn out okay. It was obvious the kids were loved and well cared for.

I got to use my sign language skills today as well. That felt good. When we got home I had a beer with friends overlooking the ocean, got a grilled cheese sandwich to go and went to my room. As usual I went to bed early.

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