<p>Got a little more info from my s. He said that unfortunately things aren't extremely organized. So, what procedure was in place one day may be totally different the next. Yesterday the volunteers had to stand in line for an hour before they could get in, and they had to go through a one hour orientation, even if they have been there before. This led to several volunteers getting frustrated and leaving, and then they were short-staffed inside. Apparently, yesterdays "director" insisited that if you so much as stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, you had to go through the one hour orientation again before you could be let back in. All the volunteers had to be re-proccessed every day, and then they fan out of nametags for a while. </p>
<p>Also, there was a lot of moving piles from one place to the next. They had organized donations in one area, and were then told that the space was needed for something else, so they had to move all the things that had been organized and laid out. But, apparently this favility is barcing itself to be established as a longer term shelter, so needs to sets itself up accordingly. they just take it one day at a time. </p>
<p>I have been hearing from a colleague that has been working at shelters in Dallas. The mental health needs there are staggering. She writes of not only the needs of the patients whe had pre-existing mental health problems (and who may or may not have known what meds they were on), but of all the new emotional problems surfacing-- people screaming out in the middle of the night, people traumatized, separated from family (who had previously been caring for them), confused, frightened. A lot of the elderly are confused, and wander off, which becomes a problem in such a large facility. It is all so sad, and presents a longstanding challenge for the infrastucture of these cities.</p>