As everyone knows, our and Dallas (among other cities) are being called upon to support our fellow American citizens along the Gulf Coast.

This situation is going to require a different type of thinking than any other kind of disaster. According to City Manager Mary Suhm, Dallas will not be taking 1,500 evacuees but up to 25,000 people from the affected regions. And that’s just by Saturday. Those numbers are in addition to the people who are already here. How long can they afford to stay in motels?

I don’t believe most people truly realize what demands are going to be placed upon our schools, our hospitals, and our police forces.

There are many things you can do TODAY - the Red Cross can’t do it all by themselves.

If you have a Sam’s Warehouse or Costco card, go buy items there to get more buying power and donate the items to the Salvation Army or to a shelter. Just $5-10 can buy a couple cases of water, a case of fruit cups, and $20 can buy a box of 100 diapers.

If you own vacant rental property that you can afford, please send me an e-mail and I will work with a local real estate broker to help fill these homes.

I will work with banks and mortgage companies that own foreclosure property to renovate and prepare these houses for families.

In addition, some of the pending relief efforts should also focus on aiding families that have taken evacuees into their homes. Most folks cannot afford to handle their new visitors, but are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.

We need to do things like provide grant monies to fix up apartment buildings so these people will have a decent place to live. No one has any idea how long the cleanup and rebuilding efforts will take, and we cannot keep people in domes and on Army and Air Force bases forever.

We need to think creatively in this situation in our approach to aid or a personal and a citywide level, maybe more so than ever before. Together, we can help our fellow American citizens.

Thank you and God Bless

Michael Davis

I plan on donating money AND supplies to the "Old WalMart" shelter. It just kills me to see people in this kind of situation. That being said, I am also concerned about the refugees becoming too comfortable and not leaving the area after they have been helped. I watched in horror at the looting in the city after the flood and am afraid that some of the miscreants may have come along for the ride with the unfortunate souls from Louisiana.

I'd like to second Mike's plea. The situation on the Gulf Coast is going to get worse before it gets better.