Action Alert: EPPN ALERT - Not Home for the Holidays in the Gulf Coast
The Episcopal Public Policy Network
Policy Alert
"We believe that the restoration of the Gulf Coast is an American opportunity to restore one corner of God's creation to greater wholeness."
--House of Bishops letter to Congress, September 2007
As we all begin to prepare for the holidays and give thanks for the many blessings and opportunities that we share, it is also a time to remember those who live in great need. In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Episcopalians across the country mobilized and responded in prayer, financial support and direct service to those in need in the Gulf Coast. According to the Diocese of Louisiana, thousands of Episcopalians have volunteered in relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts To date, over 1.1 million American citizens have traveled to the region since 2005 feeding, clothing, and comforting those whose lives were literally blown apart. They have also done the exhausting work needed to return homes and neighborhoods to livable conditions—all out of a commitment to justice, dignity and reconciliation.
Sadly many needs in the Gulf Coast remain unmet. Even more tragic, those who were poor and vulnerable before the storms have continued to be neglected in the recovery process. "What more can we do? How can we continue to help?
Contact your Senators today and urge them to support S. 1668, the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007. This legislation, which passed the House as H. 1227 with strong bipartisan support, is an opportunity for concerned Episcopalians across the nation to give the Gulf Coast a tremendous boost with our voices. The Senate could soon consider S. 1668, which will help ensure that all residents –homeowners, renters, first-time homebuyers and public housing residents alike—have a way to come home. Episcopalians and people of faith are doing our part; we must encourage our Government to fulfill its commitment to Gulf Coast Rebuilding.
At its Fall 2007 meeting in New Orleans, the House of Bishops called upon Congress to fulfill its moral obligation "to create a new vision for recovery of the Gulf Coast." S. 1668 provides an important foundation for that vision.
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more on New Orleans
As you know, local communities have achieved real progress rebuilding in the two years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. However, much has yet to be done. The slow response of government has left many with little support and few resources, particularly communities of color and rural white communities.
The Center for Social Inclusion’s new report, Triumph Over Tragedy, Leadership, Capacity and Needs in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, recommends to foundations and national organizations how to best support local rebuilding efforts by identifying community assets, gaps in the work, and challenges faced by leaders. This report finds that, with proper support, local leaders can strengthen their leadership and strategies to rebuild both their communities and a healthy, thriving region. Among other things, the report recommends that:
• Foundations and donors invest in leadership, capacity building, locally-driven collaboration, and the stabilization of groups addressing gap areas, particularly those led by women of color.
• Foundations and donors support regional and national intermediaries that can provide technical assistance, support collaboration, offer methodological approaches and other forms of capacity building for leaders and organizations.
• National organizations and intermediaries share resources with local groups, directly by sharing grants and by offering in-kind support.
Triumph Over Tragedy is available by clicking here. To see what else is new at CSI, visit our website at www.centerforsocialinclusion.org.
New Orleans Report Card
The New Orleans Recovery Report Card is Back!
It’s two years later; do you know how much of New Orleans has been rebuilt? Are all New Orleanians benefiting from recovery efforts? Find out by reading our new, improved New Orleans Recovery Report Card. In it you will learn:
70% of City residents have returned home
In most neighborhoods, most basic services and amenities are still not fully available
Communities of color are considerably more underserved than white neighborhoods in access to services and opportunities.
You may have noticed that the New Orleans Recovery Report Card has been on hiatus. We wanted to let you know that we are back with a new update, one that reflects a new approach to crunching the data.
We have completed that process, and the October 2007 Report Card has some new additions, including:
· Expanded mapping analysis, including returning population, Road Home Program progress, and building permits.
· Improvements to the Housing and Health grades.
The result is an even more powerful analysis of the obstacles that continue to hold back rebuilding in New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina passed.
For a complete explanation of the changes we’ve made, please read the Research Note for October 2007 at http://centerforsocialinclusion.org/PDF/RC_ResearchNote_Oct07.pdf
The Report Card is an advocacy tool that provides a grade for the 13 New Orleans planning districts based on the ability of former New Orleans residents to rebuild their lives. The grade is based on performance in four categories: economy, health, housing, and public education.
The Report Card will be updated and released every month to track recovery efforts in New Orleans. For a more detailed version of the October Report Card, go to http://centerforsocialinclusion.org/PDF/NOReportCard1007_Full.pdf.
The New Orleans Recovery Report Card was developed in conjunction with CSI’s August 2006 report The Race to Rebuild: The Color of Opportunity and the Future of New Orleans. The full report, Report Card methodology, and previous Report Cards can be found on http://RacetoRebuild.theCSI.org