Hope Needs Help in New Orleans

Two years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is coming back – but not for everyone. It's been a struggle every step of the way -- hamstrung by a do-nothing federal government and an at-best bumbling response at all levels. But, despite what you see on your TV, there has been some progress.  

Determined residents -- backed by nonprofits, community groups and more than 1 million volunteers -- have helped some poor and vulnerable residents succeed. Keep reading to find out where there's hope, and where "Hope Needs Help"

According to a new report, "Building a Better New Orleans: Hope Needs Help," by PolicyLink, a national public policy organization, there have been some visible signs of recovery in the vital arenas of housing, jobs, and schools:

   * The city’s population has returned to nearly two-thirds of its pre-Katrina size. The city’s labor force has reached 78 percent of pre-storm size.
   * More than 60,000 residential building permits have been issued.
   * Twenty-five new public charter schools have opened in New Orleans, and an additional 11 are expected to open this fall.

But the recovery has not reached everyone.

   * Little has been done to assist low-income renters. Government subsidies will only help rebuild about 25 percent of the city’s stock of affordable rental housing.
   * African-American evacuees were nearly five times more likely to be unemployed than white evacuees in 2006.
   * Only 40 percent of students have returned to New Orleans public schools, with 76 percent of those students in free or reduced-cost lunch programs.
   * More than 40,000 New Orleans families remain displaced outside of Louisiana.

You can read the full report here. It's got tons of stats and stories of inspirational New Orleanians who have worked day and night for two years to get back home and find hope.

To donate, volunteer or just let New Orleanians know you still care, take a minute to visit these folks who have been doing yeoman's work:
Louisiana Justice Institute
Neighborhood Housing Services
Neighborhood Development Foundation
The Idea Village (a small business incubator)
Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Teach for America
LouisianaRebuilds

•  Thanks

  I watched the Spike Lee documentary on HBO again over the weekend, and was wondering how things have changed in the year since that film was produced. It's good to know some progress is being made, slow though that progress may be.

  by Korkenzieher on Mon Aug 27, 2007 at 11:36:19 AM PDT

•  Great Diary

  You guys will have a friend in Obama when he gets elected to the whitehouse.

  Obama plans to restore new orleans

  by turnnoblindeye on Mon Aug 27, 2007 at 11:38:39 AM PDT

•  The Worst Thing We Can Do is Lose Hope

  It's going to be tough the next few days watching TV crews tour through the still-decimated Ninth Ward as visions of crying New Orleanians fill the screen. It's not a knock on the media, because all of what they show will be true -- and even fairly representative of the whole story.

  But for folks who believe that it is America's moral obligation to rebuild New Orleans, we've got to remember that it is worth fighting for -- no matter how badly the response has been bungled these two years.

  Also, if you haven't yet, check out "Reckless Abandonment," a very good op-ed from historian Douglas Brinkley from yesterday's WaPo.   It dissects the Bush Admin's response in a chilling fashion.

  by PolicyLinkDan on Mon Aug 27, 2007 at 12:45:45 PM PDT