City to close Convention Center mega shelter tonight; Tommie Allen & Samuell Grand Recreation Centers will reopen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 20, 2017

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Richard Hill - Public Information Office
pio@dallascityhall.com        

City to close Convention Center mega shelter tonight;
Tommie Allen & Samuell Grand Recreation Centers will reopen

Dallas – The City of Dallas will close the Dallas Convention Center mega shelter tonight and house the remaining evacuees in smaller shelters in Tommie Allen and Samuell Grand Recreation Centers.

The unexpected arrival of additional evacuees this afternoon from area hotels, many of whom had FEMA housing vouchers about to expire, exceeded the capacity at Tommie Allen Recreation Center. So, an overflow shelter for approximately 100 guests will also open at the Samuell Grand Recreation Center.

“This late development was unexpected,” said Office of Emergency Management Director Rocky Vaz. “We had hoped that we could consolidate into just one smaller shelter, but as the numbers increased and exceeded our capacity at Tommie Allen, we needed to take steps to accommodate all our guests. We will continue to work to ensure that everyone is comfortable and taken care of,” he said

Late this morning, as evacuees staying in local hotels learned of plans to close the mega shelter, many of them also signed up for Tommie Allen. As many of these individuals had FEMA hotel vouchers, they were concerned about getting them renewed and opted to come to the shelter.

The closure of the mega shelter and consolidation will dramatically reduce the amount of resources needed by the city to take care of its remaining guests.

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