Lifeline, Inc. Assisting 2005 Hurricane Evacuees Relocating to Lake County
November 14, 2005
PAINESVILLE, Ohio— Lifeline, Inc., Lake County’s Community Action Agency,
has secured funds to help evacuees of the 2005 hurricanes who have relocated to Lake
County. Funds raised through the United Way of Lake County and the News Herald for
the Katrina Relief Fund have been allocated to Lifeline, Inc. to assist families in securing
basic needs.
“Lifeline is very excited to be able to help hurricane victims in some capacity,”
said Carrie Dotson, Executive Director at Lifeline. “When the United Way contacted us,
we jumped at the chance to do our part.”
To date, Lifeline has assisted six households in securing basic needs including
clothing, winter wear, permanent housing, moving assistance, transportation,
counseling referrals and prescription assistance. Households served have been from
both the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans areas.
“We’ve been really lucky in that everyone is willing to collaborate on this project,”
Dotson said. “We’ve worked really well with the Lake County Church Network, Fair
Housing Resource Center, 211-Lake County and athletes from Lake Erie College to
make as lasting an impact as we can.”
In addition to the basic needs of the evacuees, one of the biggest needs is
available information and someone reliable to talk to, according to Dotson.
“One of the biggest obstacles for these families is knowing where to go and for
what and where to ask for that information,” Dotson said. “They are not familiar with the
area, the services available and where to go for them. Probably one of the most
important things we can do for them is remain a constant resource.”
Several interesting points have come out of these families’ stories according to
Dotson.
“In talking with these families, there are some things that many will tell you that
you just don’t really think about until they tell you,” Dotson said. “For example, many of
them have never left the Gulf Coast region and so haven’t ever seen snow. Imagine
trying to drive in the snow when you’ve never even seen it!”
“Many of them have no idea where their friends and neighbors have ended up,
so they are truly starting over in every sense of the word. Most of them have indicated
that they plan to remain in Lake County, as opposed to returning to the Gulf. And every
single one of these families can tell you the exact date of the hurricane. Much like 9/11,
it is just ingrained in them as a significant date.”
Dotson knows that there are many additional evacuee families in Lake County
and would like to assist those families, as well.
“In talking with other agencies, we are aware that there are 30 to 40 families in
Lake County who have evacuated from the Gulf Coast region,” Dotson said. “We would
like to locate those families we haven’t seen yet and assist them, too.”
Lifeline, Inc. was founded in 1973 with the mission of helping Lake County
residents by providing them assistance and life skills programming that is designed to
increase self-sufficiency. In 1980 Lifeline became a participating agency of the United
Way of Lake County, UWLC, and in 1987 was designated a community action agency
by the Ohio Department of Development, ODOD.
Today Lifeline continues with the same mission of helping Lake County’s lowincome residents break the cycle of poverty and make the transition to self-sufficiency.
The agency-wide motto is ‘first to help, then to teach.’ Lifeline is currently funded by
grants through the UWLC, the ODOD, the City of Painesville, Lake County Board of
Commissioners, the Western Reserve Junior Service League and through private
donors.