Evacuees found shelter in Utah

They came to Utah over a matter of days, many landing at the Utah Air National Guard Base late at night or early in the morning, stepping off the plane to a chill not often found in the Gulf Coast.

Each was handed a blanket and a tube of lip balm (a hint they were in dry mountain air) and placed on buses for transport to Camp Williams, which became a bustling, full-service community for some 650 Hurricane Katrina evacuees nearly overnight.

State agencies set up offices at the National Guard base and systematically helped evacuees secure public assistance and, if they chose, permanent housing in Utah. Others received plane and bus tickets to return home or to reunite with family members who had been scattered by the devastating storm.

At last count, 297 hurricane evacuees who made their way to Utah last year have chosen to stay in the state.

"What we're trying to say to the Katrina evacuees is, 'You are now residents of Utah, you are not evacuees. You are part of us now and part of our community,"' said community advocate Pamela Atkinson, who headed up the state's relief efforts at the request of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

"We want them not to forget that Katrina happened, but we want them to feel part of Utah."

At the peak of its storm relief efforts, the state hosted 747 hurricane evacuees, according to numbers from the Utah Department of Public Safety. To date, the federal government has reimbursed the state $1.8 million for the efforts of various state agencies.

Within 28 days, the state had finalized 225 leases and placed 460 people into apartments and condominiums. Richard Walker, housing director for the state Department of Community and Culture, personally signed each of the leases on behalf of the state.

"We wanted to get them into their own permanent housing that they could live in as long as they wanted to, based on getting some FEMA assistance and getting their lives back together," Walker said.

The state partnered with three housing authorities — Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and Ogden City — to find available properties and negotiate the leases. The state has since been removed as the lessee on nearly all of the remaining 148 contracts and is awaiting a final reimbursement of about $440,000 — $300,000 to the housing authorities for rent and another $140,000 for utility payments for the evacuees.

Like many who worked with Utah's evacuee population, Walker said he was surprised by the number of people who initially decided to call Utah home, as well as how many are still here one year later.

"It surprises me, but I think that, with a few exceptions, most of the people have been readily accepted into the community," he said. "As long as they have been trying to become part of our society, they have continued to be well received."

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com