Aug 30, 2006

Grass-roots Organizations Leap into the Katrina Relief Gap

by Laura Starita

Twelve months have passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated much of New Orleans, and more is being said about what hasn’t been done to resurrect the city than what has. Water and electricity are still not available everywhere, homes sit gutted or abandoned, schools slated to open last week don’t have space for all the children trying to enroll and mail isn’t being delivered. Residents who have begun to rebuild are mostly doing so with insurance settlements or private help. Few have seen federal aid payments promised in the days after the storm hit.

FEMA has had a lot to do - it’s no wonder some things are being neglected. But days after the hurricane, community organizations came forward to fill the gap in services to poor communities. Two of the highest profile groups - Common Ground Collective and Emergency Communities - distributed food and water. Common Ground established health clinics and arranged for people to be visited by health workers, provided legal counsel to residents at risk of having their homes condemned and seized, and helped migrant workers, brought to the region as laborers, demand fair wages. Other groups such as Habitat for Humanity are helping families rebuild their homes.

The work of these organizations with local interests offers an interesting study in how charitable organizations rise up in the wake of disaster.

Economist: New Orleans One Year On

Washington Post:
For a Former Panther, Solidarity After the Storm

One Life Uprooted to Help Rebuild Many Others