Plum Crazy

If you can give directly to victims that you know.
do not give to the red cross.
I suffered under their response. I am afraid to write this but many new yorkers, especially the displaced who lived around the trade center were not happy with how the red cross' use of the money. those people will be at the mercy of whatever crazy volunteer they get. I was thrown out of a hotel in November even though my street remained completely restricted until february 2002. But there were people in the hotel who were going home to wash clothes and use computers. they just wanted to stay in an expensive hotel. I had to sleep on someones floor for weeks and then a friends house in connecticut because i had no where to go. the red cross is a horrible organization. there were programs that i qualified for that my assigned agent did not even mention to me. I had friends in midtown getting more assistance. and that story is true across the board. I had to suffer one agent who told me that he was meeting personaly with the mayor later and he would relay my message!!! a real nut job. and this guy is deciding my fate. I had to beg and beg for help and it seemed that people with summer homes seemed to be very well informed and assisted. I lost my home and work. Find another way to help. Because the red cross and our government have obviously learned nothing from 911. In nyc Safe Horizons was great. they had posted guidelines and restrictions and i knew where i stood. when it comes down to it that is all i and many other wanted. just to know what to do next. It is hard to understand why some got so much and others so little or too little too late.
Be sure that help is going where it is needed. The red cross' job is to collect money, not give it.
When i had no home to go to and was released from my hotel, my red cross worker said. if you volunteer for the red cross we can give you a hotel room right now. But we are not taking any volunteers from nyc. so all that money you sent to help in ny came down to me getting a job with them to maybe have a place to stay. there were maybe 1000 peolpe like me who lived within the shadow of the twin towers and i dont mean tribecca who will never give or support anything that the red cross does. The mob of charities.........
and to anyone seeking help, fight for your rights, if someone says no and you need help ask someone else, make a scene. stand your ground. I would leave the red cross office thinking well i guess thats all they can do and run into someone who was there at the same time who got more assistance, even more than i was asking for and deserved. it is a crap shoot when dealing with those nitwits.
hold your ground. and if you are someone who speaks spanish or any other language please go down to help. so many people who could not communicate were trodden upon.
be well
all my love.