DALLAS - Hurricane Rita evacuees here, flat broke and homesick, struggled with red tape and waited for financial relief that might never come.
"We exhausted all our funds trying to get here," said Rachel Brown of Port Arthur.
The 42-year-old nurse was outside the American Red Cross shelter at Reunion Arena, trying to get money for food and gas.
She didn't get it.
"We want to go home, but they won't let us back in," she said. "I just need money and food so I can take care of my kids."
Brown gets paid Wednesday, but she doesn't know how to get her paycheck from the in-home health care company she works for.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency routed Brown to the American Red Cross, which suggested she contact the Salvation Army.
"Everyone's passing the buck," she said.
Or, they're passing everything except an actual buck.
Hurricane Rita evacuees shouldn't expect debit cards, hotel
vouchers or other immediate financial assistance that Hurricane Katrina victims got, said Robert Hinkle, a Red Cross volunteer.
"We're not to that point yet. It's not the same thing," he said.
"Folks that were here from Katrina are folks that were plucked off their rooftops."
The Red Cross offers food, shelter, love and care, he said.
About 1,700 evacuees, mainly people from Jefferson County who had been staying in Van Zandt County, were scheduled to pull into Dallas on Monday.
As the damage is assessed, Hinkle said, shelters may open up closer to home in Brazoria County. That may happen as soon as this week, but no time table is set yet. More help will come once
FEMA examines the conditions.
"You just have to be patient," Hinkle said.
Denise Broussard was running out of gas and tired of running all over this city, which is a traffic-snarled maze to her.
She felt slighted that Katrina evacuees got quicker assistance.
"It's like we're nobodies, and that's not fair," she said.
Desperation could pose a great financial danger, said Luke
Metzger, director of the Texas Public Interest Research Group.
In a telephone interview from Austin, Metzger said people who are running out of cash should try every possible option before turning to payday loans or car title loan companies that promise cash.
"They charge staggering interest rates," Metzger said. "It varies, but on average, it's 300- to 400 percent and sometimes, it's as high as 900 percent. Average customers are locked into debt."
He said a $300 loan, for example, might come with an interest charge of $50 or $60. But the average customer must roll it over about 12 times, which is where the loan companies earn their huge payoffs.
"Call your creditors instead. Ask them to let you avoid a month's payment. Get a cash advance on your credit card. If you're maxed out, ask them to advance you more anyway. Pawn shops are even better than payday loans," he said.
Ask a bank for a signature loan, Metzger advised.
That results in paying installments, but it's still "way better" than
payday loan companies, he said.
"Try every other option first," Metzger said.
Robert Lopez contributed to this report
