The director of the homeless service center 15 Place in downtown Mobile calls them "rainbow chasers" -- unemployed, sometimes unemployable, people who've come to Mobile in hopes of striking oil cleanup gold. "I would say easily since the debacle began, particularly in the last 60 or 70 days, we get two new people a day," 15 Place Director Lyn Manz-Walters said. "I'm sure every city on the Gulf Coast would tell you the same thing." One man took a bus from out of state to Mobile after seeing reports on TV. He firmly believed he'd be paid $1,500 a day plus per diem. "They're not so much stupid as they are desperate," Manz-Walters said. The same phenomenon has been experienced by Waterfront Rescue Mission shelters in Mobile and Pensacola, according to Bob Ham, vice president of development for the organization. The Mobile shelter recently re-allocated more beds for transients, cutting down on drug-addiction beds. "We've seen men who truly need work come to town, and some end up staying with us. Some are from Alabama and some are from elsewhere, but we are having to accommodate more people," he said. Agencies that serve the homeless are required by the federal government to carefully track their clients, ...
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