Fresno native Brian Van Anne, director of Genesis Family Center's foster care program, left September 6 to spend two weeks volunteering with the Red Cross, helping to provide mental health services to victims of Hurricane Katrina. He will share his experiences each day with Bee readers.

4:15 P.M. CENTRAL TIME -- The atmosphere here at the Houston Red Cross center is electric. People are buzzing when they get in. Every five minutes there's a new group of people; they fly in, they drive over, they get processed and they head out. Most of the people here now also are from California. Everyone here has been really good.

We've been given our assignment for now: We will provide mental health services for other volunteers at the Houston Astrodome, who also are trying to deal with what they've been thrust into. But that could change by tomorrow; it could change tonight. That "be flexible" mantra the Red Cross was drilling into us during orientation wasn't a joke.

Yesterday when we were told we'd be going to Baton Rouge, it was exciting to know we were heading that close to the disaster area to help. But if we stay here in Houston, that's fine, too. It's good to just be here helping, really.

Red Cross workers are preparing us for what to expect. There will be poverty and depression. Victims are frustrated that the process isn't moving faster, that they're still stuck without permanent housing. We haven't actually seen that yet, but we will tonight or first thing tomorrow.

There's a sign on the wall here in the center warning of the dangers for those heading to Louisiana. It says to beware of fire ants, snakes, alligators, spiders, mosquitoes, West Nile virus, heat and humidity. It says to have good shoes and a lot of sanitizing hand wash because you don't know who or what you might be touching.