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NeighborWorks Organizations throughout the South Leverage Local Resources to Assist Katrina Victims
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Mississippi NeighborWorks Organization Partners with Church, Civic Organizations and Businesses in Post-Katrina Rebuilding and Medical Efforts
Houston's Fifth Ward CRC Links Katrina Evacuees to Vital Services
NeighborWorks Partners to Bring Services to Evacuees in Trailer Parks
Hurricane Katrina disaster victim, Martha Hentor, 82, stands in front of her FEMA-provided temporary housing travel trailer. [FEMA photo]
NeighborWorks Organizations Assist Fellow Network Members Responding to Hurricane Katrina
Alabama NeighborWorks Group Activates Multifaceted ‘Team Katrina’
Georgia NeighborWorks Organization Teams Up With United Way to Assist Katrina Evacuees
San Antonio NeighborWorks Organization Makes 200 Katrina Victims Feel Right at Home with Furnished Apartments, Basic Necessities
New Orleans Minister Assisting Fellow Evacuees at Disaster Recovery Center
Raleigh, North Carolina, NeighborWorks Organization Helps Resettle Evacuees in Vacant Apartments
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| NeighborWorks America, Freddie Mac to Take 'HomeHelp Express' to Communities Devastated by Katrina; Network Volunteers Still Needed |
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NeighborWorks America is partnering with Freddie Mac and joining with more than 20 nonprofit organizations throughout the regions hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Two buses, called the HomeHelp Express, outfitted with computer workstations, Internet connectivity through a satellite feed, and hands-on nonprofit counseling assistance, will travel to neighborhoods devastated by Katrina to offer these free resources to homeowners. NeighborWorks America is seeking volunteers from across the NeighborWorks network to assist with this effort. The buses will be deployed December 5 and will be in the region for the next six months. Volunteer assignments are for a minimum of one-week increments. Network members: Please log in to the member site for more information.
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Austin, Texas, Nonprofits Overwhelmed with Needs of New Orleans Evacuees
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Nearly three months after Hurricane Katrina drove thousands of New Orleans residents into Austin, many evacuees are still living in poverty, according to an article in this week's Austin American-Statesman. Foundation Communities, a NeighborWorks organization, is working with 600 of an estimated 7,000 evacuees who arrived in Austin.
Some don't have furniture. Others need jobs, medication, medical insurance and food stamps. Caseworkers at Foundation Communities, which has set up resource centers at three of the apartment complexes known to be housing Katrina families, say they have already seen malnutrition, child neglect, spousal abuse, and drug addiction, the article reported.
"The situation is horrible," Foundation Communities Executive Director Walter Moreau told the newspaper. "It is dire. It is urgent." View article.
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Some 500 Gather for Modular and Manufactured Housing Conference in Mississippi
Co-Sponsored by NeighborWorks America
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| Nearly 500 members of the manufactured and modular home industry met in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on November 17 for a conference addressing the rebuilding effort after Hurricane Katrina. "The massive task of rebuilding this area is not something a few workers can come in and bring a few truckloads of supplies and do overnight," Hattiesburg home builder Gary Fordham said.
"Quality tradesmen were hard to find even before the storm, but these issues are being made more difficult by the storm." Fordham said the factory-built home industry could reduce the time, cost and waste in building new homes in the wake of one of the nation's worst natural disasters. NeighborWorks America co-sponsored the conference along with Freddie Mac, CFED, and industry groups.
View article from Hattiesburg American.
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| Living Cities: Sign-on Letter to Congress and Administration — Ten Points to Guide the Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast |
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Living Cities: The National Community Development Initiative has endorsed a set of principles to guide the efforts of both Congress and the Administration with regard to rebuilding the Gulf Coast. The principles emphasize resident participation in the rebuilding, mixed-income communities, jobs for local residents, and making sure new neighborhoods are healthy and environmentally safe. View.
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Town Hall Session Explores 'Root Cause' of Poverty Exposed by Katrina —
NeighborWorks Ken Wade Says New Social Contract is Needed |
| The National Community Reinvestment Coalition convened a panel of experts from housing, finance and the advocacy community at a town hall meeting at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., to discuss solutions to addressing the “root cause” of poverty exposed by Katrina. John Taylor, president of NCRC, opened the symposium, entitled “Building on Hope: From Poverty to Prosperity — Why Government Solutions Won’t be Enough," by posing the questions: Is it the role of government to address poverty? Do banks and private capital have a role? Is it the role of government to be a catalyst to leverage private bank capital? Several of the speakers said that banks play an important role in addressing poverty and helping to build the economy, but more broadly, it is the government’s role to take the lead in establishing the framework for addressing issues of poverty.
Ken Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks America, said the “challenge we are facing” in addressing poverty is “to create a new social contract — we know how to address poverty — it’s a matter of rededicating ourselves."
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| Deadline Approaching for Disaster Victims to Transition to Long-Term Housing |
| Beginning December 15, evacuees will need to tap FEMA-provided housing assistance or other financial means to fund lodging costs. In order to make the best use of the financial assistance being made available to them, FEMA is strongly encouraging families to look for more cost-effective options that offer greater privacy and stability like apartments and houses.
View news release. |
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| More than 50 Bills Introduced in Congress To Assist Hurricane Victims |
Congress has enacted a total of $70 billion in direct funding and tax relief for hurricane Katrina victims. From the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders, read more.
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| HUD: Black Colleges and Universities Rebuilding America Partnerships, December 1 |
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HUD is accepting applications from historical black colleges and universities for 2006 disaster prevention and relief grants. Awards up to $350,000 are available. The grants will provide critical resources and assistance to communities, principally for individuals who are:
• low- and moderate-income;
• impacted by Hurricane Katrina; or Rita; and
• seeking to revitalize their communities and rebuild their lives.
Application information.
Contact: Ophelia H. Wilson, Grant Specialist, HUD, ophelia_h._wilson@hud.gov
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| HUD: Universities Rebuilding America Partnerships — Community Design, December 1 |
| HUD is offering funding to schools of architecture/urban planning/design or construction up to $350,000 to establish and operate partnerships with and for communities affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita (or both). Application. (Enter CFDA # 14.521) |
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| USA Today: Katrina Inspires Record Charity; Charity Scams Also on the Rise |
| The public response to the hurricane devastation on the Gulf Coast is about to become the biggest charitable outpouring in U.S. history, surpassing the relief effort that followed the September 11 attacks, according to a USA Today article. Private donations total nearly $2.7 billion just 11 weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck, according to the Red Cross and Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy, which tracks charitable giving. The total amount given to 9/11 charities was $2.8 billion. View USA Today Story Related USA Today Story: Charity scams also on the rise. |
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| Reinhabiting New Orleans, Xavier University, November 29-30 |
| Xavier University, the Tulane University School of Architecture and the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research will be hosting a two-day workshop at Xavier, November 29 and 30, entitled, “Re-inhabiting New Orleans.” The workshop will address the challenges of responding to the destruction and displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina. The attendees will examine crucial issues such as housing, employment, infrastructure, commercial activity, the local environment and the city’s social networks. Attending will be a number of experts in various community development fields and residents of the city. NeighborWorks America will have several staff participating in the event and is investigating potential future partnerships with Tulane and Xavier Universities regarding the rebuilding and “re-inhabiting” of New Orleans and the Gulf region. |
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| Save the Date: NeighborWorks Symposium on Community Development Organizations Disaster Preparedness and Response, Dallas, April 5, 2006 |
Hurricane Katrina has left many Americans wondering what citizens, organizations, and local governments can do to prepare for natural and man-made catastrosophes. What are the best ways to endure disasters and then to reconstruct communities? To begin to answer these important questions, NeighborWorks America is convening a one-day symposium at the Dallas NeighborWorks Training Institute, scheduled for April 5, 2006. CDCs and local governments in the Gulf Coast area will actively participate with presentations from organizations and communities that have implemented effective strategies. Attendees will take away the best practices, tools and skills needed to prepare for disasters and plan for recovery.
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| Katrina Resources from NeighborWorks: www.nw.org/katrina |
| For information on how federal agencies are responding, including IRS, FEMA, and Treasury, visit www.nw.org/katrina. This page, which includes many useful links, is updated frequently. |
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| Special KnowledgePlex Report on Katrina Aftermath and Relief Effort |
| More than any other event in recent history, the hurricanes have moved the issues of poverty and affordable housing to the forefront of the nation's conscience and policy agenda. This special report provides information about how governments and organizations are dealing with the disaster as well as statistical data about the areas that were hit. View report. |
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Housing Families Displaced by Katrina: A Review of the Federal Response to Date
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| A report from The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program suggests the most cost-effective ways the federal government can invest in the recovery of the New Orleans region and address pockets of poverty found in other cities around the country. View report. |
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| Urban Planners Convene for Gulf Coast Rebuilding |
| Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour invited urban planners from around the country to spend six days in Biloxi working with local leaders to create a plan to rebuild and improve the region’s coastal towns. The work of the forum’s 200 participants can be seen on the Mississippi Renewal Forum’s Web site. Additionally, the conference was covered by The Washington Post and other news media. |
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