Veterans of Foreign Wars bases around the country are best known for their bingo games, but the DeRidder VFW in Beaumont, Louisiana, has become a temporary home to 150 people and their pets who have fled their southeastern Louisiana homes to escape Hurricane Katrina. With houses submerged in water, and reports of over a hundred dead, those who escaped feel lucky on the whole, but they're having trouble finding where to go.

At one VFW, though, they’ve put away the bingo cards, closed down the bingo games, and opened their hearts. Although the post had not been designated as a shelter, when the need arose, post officials halted bingo games, and rose to the occasion. With cots supplied by boy scouts, air mattresses donated by Wal-Mart, and food donated by local supermarket Brookshire's Groceries, the DeRidder VFW has become a fully-functional shelter for families who fled the floods. Unlike many other shelters, the VFW post has allowed the hurricane refugees to keep their pets with them.