Yvonne Gilliam Quotations

It's just as convenient for us to come to them. Our office is near downtown Dallas, so for them to get there from Plano can be quite a haul.

So far we're the only office in the country doing this. We've been able to see 1,800 people in the last 30 days just by going and visiting the outlying Dallas area.

We are spreading ourselves around making ourselves more available.

We're bringing the services we offer in our downtown Dallas office to those in need. We're helping people update their records, help them find housing, clarify letters they may have received and help them re-certify themselves for aid.

This has been hard on people. People want to move forward and find permanent housing. It's been six-and-a-half months and people want their children in one school, they want to be in one location and want to have dependable transportation and services.

I heard a lot of the people talk about how grateful they were that Plano opened up their arms to them, found them housing and how well Plano has treated them.

They can check the status of their applications, update their address, get information on our partnering agencies like SBA (Small Business Administration) or DHA (Dallas Housing Authority) or even apply for recertification.

It's a case-by-case situation. Our goal is to provide permanent housing ... and we offer services for permanent residency for wherever they want. If they live here now or they want to go back home to New Orleans ... we have assistance for that.

Our clients are finding a hard time getting transportation. They can often find work, but then they have to find a way to get to work as well.

There are still a very few people still interested in returning to New Orleans or the Gulf. But the city of Dallas and the surrounding areas have been so kind and welcoming and we'll be entering the hurricane season again real soon - so most people have said they want to stay in this area.