Lansing gives Thomas Hollingsworth, a Hurricane Katrina evacuee, a sense of what he used to have in New Orleans - a home.

A mob of Michigan welcomers, well-wishers and media surrounded him on Friday at St. Vincent Catholic Charities Inc. in Lansing, just as they had when he arrived at the Michigan Army National Guard's Fort Custer Training Center last Monday.

But where Fort Custer offered temporary shelter and communal living space, Lansing has separate residences in the city for Hollingsworth and nine other evacuees who arrived on Friday.

"We haven't had our own space at all since we got here," Hollingsworth said. "To finally get our own place - well, I'm glad."

Ten evacuees arrived in Lansing on Friday by bus from Fort Custer, where they had been since last Monday.

St. Vincent has worked since Thursday to furnish 15 housing units in Lansing for the evacuees, said Cheval Breggins, director of marketing and media relations for St. Vincent Catholic Charities.

Evacuees were scheduled to be set up in their housing shortly after their arrival in Lansing, Breggins said.

"When you see how people are ... you have to have that human spirit that you will serve them," Breggins said.

Funding for the apartments and housing came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he said.

Baby strollers, children's toys and mattresses filled the St. Vincent gym area Friday afternoon. More than 75 volunteers organized the donations into numbered sets to furnish residences around Lansing for evacuees and operated the charity's phone bank.

A constant cycle of cars and large trucks came through St. Vincent's parking lot in the afternoon, with donations ranging from desks to bed sheets to baby oil.

Kerry Stouder, an evacuee from the New Orleans suburbs, said he "wanted to get as far from New Orleans" as he could get after the evacuation.

Stouder said he plans to look for a job cutting hair while in Lansing.

"All we do now is let the people work by giving them the opportunity to work," said Lansing Mayor Tony Benavides, who reached the St. Vincent location shortly before the evacuees arrived.

He said Gov. Jennifer Granholm was in communication with Michigan mayors last week to determine which cities had enough resources to accept some of the 289 evacuees stationed at Fort Custer near Battle Creek.

Benavides said Lansing is ready to accept 200 evacuees who would stay in "transitional housing" for at least six months.

"(Lansing) had all the components: social service, education, Medicaid and coordinated food and shelter," he said.

Awaiting at the St. Vincent chapel for evacuees to arrive were Delta Township residents Gordy Smith, his wife Charla-Fay and daughter Shirley-Anne. The family volunteered to host one of the Gulf Coast victims - to show them around Lansing, take them to dinner and introduce them to the Michigan way of life.

If they were in the same situation as the evacuees - far away from home, family and friends - they'd look for a helping hand too, the Smith family said.

"It was such a big disaster. We just wanted to help in some way," Shirley-Anne said.

The family prepared to welcome its selected evacuee with groceries from three trips to Meijer.

"We don't know who they are and don't care," Gordy said. "We just want to be someone's friend."

Scott Cendrowski can be reached at cendrow3@msu.edu