MARK OUR WORDS: Taking Heed of Hurricane Katrina’s Lessons as We Rebuild Devastated Communities in the Aftermath of Hurricane Irene

By Tracie L. Washington, Esq.
Director/Counsel, Louisiana Justice Institute
There was an odd sense of relief in New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast as we approached this sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. We had survived another year without a major storm. But that joy is always saddened by our memories of those loved ones lost and those remaining who still struggle to return to their communities, some of which are not yet rebuilt. Further, we sat fixated by scenes of the onset of Hurricane Irene, knowing as few others in our nation, what our fellow Americans will face in the coming months and years as they work tirelessly to rebuild their communities.

Hurricane Katrina exposed is that we are a nation vulnerable to disasters, both natural and man-made. And many of the inadequacies in our social/public infrastructure – exacerbated by persistent and generational racial and economic disparities – make these disasters even more devastating. Notwithstanding the wrangling and hyperbole of our current national political troupe, what we know certainly is that this nation needs a social safety net, because when our infrastructures fail, communities cannot rebuild on their own.
Lessons of Hurricane Katrina begin with understanding that as a nation we must revise and then codify a standard of care for rebuilding communities after disaster and displacement of people. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the federal law that is implemented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”), places almost all disaster response, including emergency medical assistance and the reduction of life-threatening risks, at the discretion of the President of the United States, and explicitly denies an individual harmed by a natural disaster the legal right to claim assistance or compensation for loss. “The numerous governmental barriers to recovery – from the demolition of affordable housing, lack of employment, inadequate home repair grants, closing of schools and hospitals to racial inequalities in flood protection – are allowed under this flawed statute.”

Our new standard of care must establish the duties of the federal government and the rights of those individuals harmed and displaced by disaster, to ensure recovery of people and communities. These rights must include and range from voluntarily choosing to return home to all forms of humanitarian assistance, such as housing, food, health care, education, and other social services.

To our fellow Americans all along the East Coast, many of whom find themselves displaced and struggling to simply survive, when faced with seemingly insurmountable barriers– Take Heed of our Hurricane Katrina Lessons. You must demand there be changes made to the Stafford Act to guarantee your right to full recovery and our federal government’s duty to assist you in this effort. And we, your fellow Americans – Hurricane Katrina survivors – will continue to share our lessons learned.

Tracie L. Washington, Esq. is a member of Katrina Citizens Leadership Corps. Along with Monique Harden, Esq., Director, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, Tracie co-authored the report “What it Takes to Rebuild a Village After a Disaster: Stories from Internally Displaced Children and Families of Hurricane Katrina and Their Lessons for Our Nation,” which was commissioned by the Children’s Defense Fund’s Southern Regional and Louisiana Offices.

Concerned Mothers and Children Denied Access to Senator Landrieu

This morning, at 11:45 a.m., the Baton Rouge, Louisiana Children’s Defense Fund Stroller Brigade – parents, grandparents, and children in strollers – made their way by bus and car to the federal building to meet with Senator Mary Landrieu to stand up for critical change needed in health care reform to protect our children. Senator Landrieu knew in advance that “The Strollers Are Coming.” But instead of meeting these concerned moms, dads, and children, she sent out the federal police to deny them all access to the building. “Senator Landrieu’s office is closed and you may not enter the building ,” was the pronouncement by the U.S. Marshall Service officers.

Reached for comment this afternoon, Senator Landrieu’s Washington, D.C. Office personnel stated, emphatically, the Baton Rouge office had not been closed and, indeed, Senator Landrieu is in Louisiana today.

The Champions for Children’s Health Stroller Brigade Rally moves to New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, November 7th, with a rally on the steps of the Hale Boggs Building 500 Poydras and a parade to the River at New Orleans Council for Young Children Monument in Woldenberg Park. Events will begin at 9am and parade will start at 10am.

We extend, again, the invitation to Senator Landrieu to meet with our moms, dads, and children to discuss health care reform.

Protests in Support of Health Care Reform Planned for This Weekend

As health care reform slowly moves its way through Congress, the final shape of what the results will look like is still unclear. Unfortunately, real reform - like single payer - was never on the table, and Republicans and conservative Democrats have been standing in the way of even mild improvements, like a robust public option. In New Orleans, the fight over Charity Hospital continues, while Louisiana ranks near the bottom of most indicators of health. Overall the state is 46th in access to healthcare and healthcare outcomes, with the fifth highest rate of uninsured in the country, including a third of African Americans uninsured. The state is also fifth to last in employer-sponsored health insurance

Nationwide, chapters of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) have been organizing protests called Stroller Brigades, saying, "it is astonishing that we are still begging to make sure children are better off, not worse off," in the legislation. They demand that "Congress and the President support changes that provide comprehensive, affordable, accessible care for all children no matter where they live."

The Louisiana chapter of CDF is organizing rallies in several cities across the state, including Baton Rouge, Alexandra, and Lafayette. The New Orleans protest will be this Saturday, November 7, starting at the Hale Boggs Federal Bldg., 500 Poydras St. Participants assemble at 9:00am, and the march begins at 9:30am.

Photo of Save Charity Hospital Secondline by Taslim VanHattum.

Louisiana Justice Institute joins Children's Defense Fund delegation to Washington, DC to fight for human rights for those affected by disasters

Last week, the Southern Regional and Louisiana Offices of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) sent a delegation of over 140 people to Washington DC to present to Congress the findings of a two-year report on the plight of displaced residents from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The report, What It Takes to Rebuild a Village after a Disaster: Stories from Internally Displaced Children and Families of Hurricane Katrina and Their Lessons for Our Nation, is the result of a two-year effort sponsored by the CDF’s Southern Regional and Louisiana Offices and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The initiative produced the Katrina Citizens Leadership Corps (KCLC), a group of over 250 displaced residents whose stories are told in the report.

The report explicitly challenges the current model for disaster recovery, governed by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Act (commonly known as the Stafford Act) which denies an individual harmed by a natural disaster the legal right to claim assistance or compensation for loss. As an alternative, the report stresses the solutions under international law – specifically the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement - which provide for much fuller protection.

Louisiana Justice Institute director Tracie Washington is a co-writer of the report, and accompanied the delegation, made up of KCLC members, public officials and others, to Washington, DC from September 22nd to the 24th. In discussing the report and the issues it raises, Washington said, “Why have so many of our students not returned to our schools? Why is our healthcare situation in a state of chaos? Why are renters suffering from oppressively high rents, easily double the pre-Katrina rates?”

The problem, according to Washington and others, is the lack of rights accorded under US law. “An elected officials’ promise means absolutely nothing unless a ‘right’ is bestowed along with it,” says Washington. “And the people of the Gulf Coast who suffered as a result of Katrina had no right to recovery.”

Among those traveling to Washington were Mary Joseph, Director of CDF’s Louisiana Offices; Dr. Millie Charles, former Dean of Social Work at Southern University in New Orleans; Lourdes Moran, with the Orleans Parish School Board; and Oleta Fitzgerald, Director of CDF’s Southern Regional Office. Several elected officials from Baton Rouge made the trip, as well as Mayor Harold Rideau of Baker, Louisiana. Baker was the home of the largest trailer park for Katrina evacuees in the US, an area that was known as Renaissance Village.

The delegation’s agenda included attendance at the Congressional Black Caucus’ opening session on Capitol Hill, Wednesday morning, September 23rd. Speakers included CBC Foundation President, Dr. Elsie Scott; CBC Foundation Chair, Congressman Kendrick Meek; Congresswoman Barbara Lee; and Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House of Representatives. The opening session was followed by a series of panel discussions featuring, among others, Marian Wright Edelman, National Director of the Children’s Defense Fund; PolicyLink’s Angela Glover; and National Urban League President, Marc Morial. The day closed with a KCLC reception that evening at the National Council of Negro Women.

On Thursday morning, September 24th, KCLC members presented the report and their recommendations at a Congressional Briefing. Later that afternoon, Mary Joseph and other delegation members met with Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu.

We hope our legislators got the message.

(Thanks to nola.tv for their coverage of the delegation).