By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A social service agency in St. Louis is hoping to match local families with victims of Hurricane Katrina who want to resettle here.
The St. Patrick's Center helps homeless people find permanent jobs and housing. Now the center has started a program called Adopt-a-Family to help former Gulf Coast residents now in the St. Louis area. It wants St. Louisans to adopt a Gulf Coast family and help them put down new roots in the area.
"Those adoptive families will be assisting with the setup of the apartment-the cleaning, the painting, and stocking the basic necessities and food. And they will follow up with the survivors on a regular basis for six months, through the holidays," said Jean Jackson, a spokeswoman for St. Patrick.
Jackson says one local couple is letting a family of evacuees live rent free in a house they were planning to sell.
The Red Cross estimates about 8,000 people from the hurricane zone are now in the St. Louis area.
Under the plan, locals would help new residents set up homes, find doctors and find their way around. "The vast majority simply came here because they couldn't find another place to go," added Jackson. "We have a number of them who have relatives or friends in St. Louis."