Yes, in New Orleans, which has gained a reputation for making waves and increasingly for demolishing houses. The big news during AJC ACCESS’s recent fourth trip to the city was that the homeless people camped outside of Mayor Nagin’s office would be evicted shortly. They were given notice - how humane!
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New Orleans has become the metaphor for the problems of our nation laid bare. And while we’ve seen our share of good and bad answers, the bottom line has been inhumane.
Pieces of the city are fixed, while others suffer. There is no thought for the whole, no vision of a healed city, no sense of the fate of human beings as entire individuals. Every person and institution in the end on their own.
The most recent decision by the City Council to close 4,600 lower income housing units demonstrates the enormity of the problem. Yes, the HUD plan is to replace them with mixed income housing – no doubt a better concept – except when you realize that in the “mix” are far fewer (by the thousands) lower income units than exist now, however flawed.
To add insult to injury, FEMA is also planning shortly to close trailer parks in which, by some estimates, 60,000 lower income people live. Since low income housing that is useable post-storm is nearly impossible to find, the question of where people will move begs itself. And there is no answer.
There are opportunities of course, as well. A devastated city means a chance to rebuild a better one. The good news is that some people are bringing in creative solutions and good ideas.
There are model schools being developed – ones that benefit from the wealth of experience across the country in charter and other novel programs. Brad Pitt is building $5 million worth of houses with solar roofs in the devastated Ninth Ward – demonstrating that rebuilding New Orleans is possible.
The Jewish community too was buzzing with a feeling of life and renewal; one had the sense that Shabbat services had not been as full for years and there was palpable excitement about the possibilities.
We felt all this in an immediate way: in the past, ACCESS members’ hands-on work has focused on gutting houses – taking an axe to the walls, shelves, pictures – the molded interiors of people’s lives. This time around, rebuilding was the order of the day. We planted flowers, built benches, and painted posters for a recently reopened school that is on course to succeed with an impressive young director.
But good news also brings bad news. “Our” school is getting funding to succeed, but most are not. The houses we saw being rebuilt by the impressive Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana are a point of hope, but they lay on streets full of devastated homes of neighbors. One wonders how the grandmother, soon to be moving in, will be able to keep her four grandsons, her charges, in school, and from trouble, and keep herself afloat. The Diocese can’t take that issue on.
The problem is that no one is.
Rebecca Neuwirth is director of ACCESS: AJC’s New Generation Program and special projects.
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9 users responded in this post
It is painful to read your blog on the neglect of the Katrina victims. I have another story of neglect in preventing the problems that the victims immediately faced with no help forthcoming, when they were in dire danger. FEMA had pronouned interest in this project right after Katrina, but stated it had to come from the private sector. It involves a two - tiered garment, unisex, one size fits all, with the outer tier consisting of weather-proof material that is designed to be capable of turning into a tent, with the props in the hem, etc., and the inner tier having pockets of NASA-type food,water tubes, and personal needs equipment that would last for three days, if necessary. No official in the Red Cross, UN, and other international relief organizations has expressed interest in developing this concept, let alone private businesses. Since Katrina, there have been Lebanon, Java, San Diego, etc., all of which could have found these garments extremely needed, useful and
valuable.
Thank you Rebecca for this interesting post. I am excited to see AJC posting on poverty, housing and Gulf Coast rebuilding. JCPA is working on these issues through our national anti-poverty campaign and I would be interested to hear more about your work.
Rebecca,
Thank you for your thoughtful post and for the kind words concerning our work. The Episcopal Diocese, along with many others, is trying mightily to take on the plight of the grandmother you mentioned. Our collaborative efforts are directed towards the many homeless and soon to be homeless of our city and of the diaspora.
Our best mission with such folks is the Case Mangement System that we have undertaken through the collaborative known as Katrina Aid Today. Unfortuantely, funding for Case Management expires in two months. No Federal Tax dollars have gone to Case Management. The Funds that did come our way were from gifts of foreign governments! I have worked to get the Louisiana and Mississippi congressional delegations to introduce legislation to allow FEMA funds to be used to continue Case Management. The bill is awaiting action. The administration has given a contract to a Texas Company to develop a plan for Case Management! The facts are beyond irony.
In December alone, the Episcopal Diocese through our Case Managers helped 350 families devise and work a plan towards returning home. We provide not only professional support and guidance but also resources, encouragement and hands on help. Case Mangement is a move towards independence and personal achievement.
Our efforts demonstrate that people of good-will, people of faith and of a good heart can and do make a difference. With your help and the assistance of people from around the world, we give our best.
Bishop Charles Jenkins
Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana
A brief reply to Bishop Jenkins, for whom I have the utmost admiration along with the Louisiana Diocese under his leadership.
Thank you for your response and the very specific information, with which I hope we can move forward. Case management sounds like exactly the “humane”/whole person approach that I bemoaned the scarcity of in my article. And, I would think, even the very best organizations cannot take the role of government — though they can work in partnership, as a FEMA financing of this initiative would suggest.
I wanted to reiterate that I have the greatest respect for your work. Thank you and all the wonderful people with whom you work.
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