NATCHEZ &045; Only 545 people are now in Miss-Lou Red Cross shelters, about half the number there early last week.

Ten shelters, two of them non-Red Cross, remain open in the area, but numbers have been cut at all of them.

&uot;They’ve gotten the Red Cross voucher, started getting money and started trying to get back home,&uot; Concordia Parish Civil Defense Director Morris White said.

Steckler Multipurpose Center Manager Don Theriaque said his residents were going to a variety of places.

&uot;There were some that were on high enough ground in New Orleans that are going back,&uot; he said. &uot;Some going to Houston, some with apartments here.&uot;

Tyrone McEwen has been at the Steckler Center since the day Katrina hit but will be leaving today.

&uot;My girlfriend is going to pick me up,&uot; he said. &uot;We’ve got a house in Houston. We left New Orleans to come here.&uot;

The 545 count includes 174 in Concordia Parish shelters. Three shelters are open in the parish, but the one at Vidalia First Baptist Church is scheduled to close Friday.

White said he was working with the Red Cross to consolidate into the two Ferriday shelters, at the Community Center and Ferriday First Baptist Church.

The Red Cross could not provide exact numbers on each shelter, but estimates show more than 100 at Parkway Baptist Church, First Baptist, Natchez and Steckler.

New Hope Missionary Baptist and Community Chapel Church of God have close to 100 residents and Assumption Catholic Church has less than 20.

In the parish, the Ferriday Community Center has about 100. Vidalia First Baptist has around 30 and Ferriday First Baptist has around 60.

A non-Red Cross shelter, Pilgrim Baptist Church has around 30 people.

Vidalia First Baptist is also not a Red Cross shelter.

At one point, First Pentacostal Church and Washington Baptist Church in Natchez housed evacuees, but have since closed.