When Hurricane Katrina evacuee Marvin Millon arrived in Arizona without his birth certificate – he discovered proof of identity is one of the hardest things to live without.
Securing federal aid, getting a new driver’s license, and applying for other services can be almost impossible without an official birth certificate to reestablish identity.
But Millon found badly needed help through the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Office of Vital Records.
Millon, a 20-year-old native of New Orleans, also found a job with the Office.
“Our goal is to do everything we can to help those who have arrived in Arizona to get on with their lives. In this case, we also helped an evacuee find employment,” said Patricia Adams, Director of the state’s Office of Vital Records.
Millon, who evacuated from New Orleans with 25 family members, is working in the Office’s call center, helping others to find birth and death certificates.
He learned of the job opening while talking to Adams at Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum, where he was attempting to recover his Louisiana birth certificate. “It’s great. I enjoy what I do,” Millon said of his new position.
The Department of Health Services’ Vital Records’ Office is assisting evacuees who were born in Arizona by providing replacement birth certificates at no cost.
Vital Records
In addition, Arizona is assisting the Louisiana Office of Vital Records to serve those born in Louisiana and who have arrived in Arizona on either a temporary or permanent basis.
The National Association of Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) has been in contact with vital records staff in Louisiana and has established procedures that the states may follow to assist those evacuees residing in their state who were born in Louisiana. Arizona gladly agreed to help.
Questions about how evacuees in Arizona can obtain Louisiana birth certificates can be directed to Robin Glover at 602-364-1225.
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