Shortly after Hurricane Katrina made landfall and the first reports were hitting the news, ACB members, chapters and affiliates were working to find news of blind and visually impaired individuals in the Gulf Coast region. To facilitate this, the national office set up a Katrina check-in phone line.
If you have evacuated to another area because of the hurricanes, please call in at 1-800-424-8666, extension 12.
We have calculated that there are 640 ACB members in the affected region. To date, we have accounted for 252, or 39.2 percent. Fortunately, so far we have received notice of only one confirmed Katrina-related casualty from our membership. We ask that you please call and let us know that you are OK, and how or where to contact you should you need any assistance. We would also like to remind our members that there is a national Katrina Relief Fund available.
Once again, I would like the express the concerns and sorrows of everyone here at the national office for those affected and also to express our pride at the perseverance and dedication of the individuals, chapters and affiliates who are working so hard to help.