A Safe Way Back Home

New Orleans, LA

            Deep South Center for Enviromental Justice (DSCEJ) TO HOLD KATRINA SURVIVORS FORUM AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY

     Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Inc. will be hosting a "Katrina Survivors Forum" centered on environmental issues as a result of Hurricane Katrina. This session will be held in Atlanta, Georgia to meet the needs of evacuees living in the Atlanta area.

      The A SAFE WAY BACK HOME Katrina Survivors Forum will be located on the campus of Clark Atlanta University, Science & Research Center – 1st Floor Auditorium on Wednesday, July 19, 2006, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

       Topics will include; Environmental Concerns, New Orleans City Services, and an update on "The Road Home" housing plan and more. A number of Louisiana elected and governmental officials have been invited to participate, including representatives from the New Orleans City Council, the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency and others.

         A Safe Way Back Home is the product of DSCEJ and an unusual partnership between labor, environmental and community organizations. It offers neighborhood residents whose homes were flooded by Hurricane Katrina an opportunity to join forces with local Steelworkers and environmentalists to take a proactive approach to cleaning up their neighborhoods. At area neighborhood clean up, contaminated sediment, soil, grass and other tainted items will be removed from yards, streets, and sidewalks located on the block.

        "This demonstration project serves as a catalyst for a series of activities that will attempt to reclaim the New Orleans community following the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina. Ultimately, it is the government’s responsibility to provide the resources required to address areas of environmental concern and to assure that our communities are safe and our families are protected. However it is incumbent upon organizations such as DSCEJ to keep the pubic informed," says Dr. Beverly Wright, DSCEJ’s executive director.

This home, previously valued at $88,500, had been reassessed at a value of $227,300, a 157% increase.  Photo by Cathryn Shaffer.

Much of our work at the center in coming months will focus on the research, policy, and community outreach and assistance and education needs of the displaced minority population of New Orleans. There are critical issues of health and environmental restoration that must be monitored for fairness as it relates to standards of clean up for re-settlement. Additionally, in the area of jobs and economic development, the center will engage in job training and placement related to environmental clean-up. Our focus will be on training displaced citizens of New Orleans and job placement for those citizens who have already been trained through our Minority Worker Training and Brownfields Minority Training Program funded by NIEHS.

         The immediate task of the Center will be to provide a space for dialogue between community leaders who are concerned about how the “new” New Orleans will be shaped by race and class. Of most concern is the potential for permanent displacement and permanent removal of poor and working class African Americans who have called New Orleans home for centuries. Also, at stake is the loss of a culture that is deeply rooted in the African American community and has been preserved and practiced by the grassroots. First and foremost is the goal of returning residents who wish to return and the monitoring of all aspects of government and commerce that may hinder that effort.

        The forum is free and open to the public, however we would appreciate it if you RSVP to Mary Williams at Phone: (225) 201-1662 or email: [email protected]

         DSCEJ, like many other programs at colleges and universities in New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, while physically destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, recognize an even greater need for their services. It is imperative that our current programs are continued, but it is also necessary that we shift our major attention to the destruction caused by this devastating hurricane. The DSCEJ has set up a temporary office at 440 N. Foster Drive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more information please visit www.dscej.org .