Edwards kicks off 3-day poverty tour with walk through New Orleans’ 9th Ward

Presidential hopeful, former Sen. John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth joined New Orleans ACORN head organizer Tanya Harris and ACORN leader Vanessa Gueringer in a walk down Delery Street in New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward Sunday, July 15, visiting new homes built and financed for Hurricane Katrina survivors with the help of ACORN.

The low-income neighborhood was the first stop on a three-day “Road to One America Tour,” which has a goal of bringing attention to poverty in the South and Midwest.

They visited the home of ACORN member Gwendolyn Guice who was able to rebuild with financing from Countryside Bank after receiving financial counseling from ACORN. Her family was scattered after the hurricane and now lives in Cleveland, Ohio; Fayetteville, N.C.; and New Iberia, La., the Times Picayune reported.

Edwards then spoke with ACORN member Henry Phipps who is still living in a FEMA trailer while rebuilding the brick house he’s owned for 18 years. Phipps, 63, said he has received no government help. His family is living on the West Bank until the house is restored. According to recent FEMA information, 80,000 Gulf Coast families continue to live in trailers, the Times Picayune reported.

Edwards’ plan to rebuild New Orleans has three major points: rebuilding infrastructure – housing, schools, roads and hospitals; creating jobs; and securing the city from hurricanes by enforcing levees and strengthening public safety through crime prevention. Edwards proposes hiring 50,000 Gulf Coast residents to repair the infrastructure and urged the Veterans Administration to move ahead with a new downtown hospital.

“We have an awful lot of work to do,” Edwards told the New York Times. “You take the words ‘working poor’ — these are two words that should not be in combination in the United States. Most of the country is not aware of the rebuilding by you folks,” he said. “You’re not getting any help, and America needs to be there for New Orleans,” Edwards added.

Edwards has visited the Gulf Coast six times since Hurricane Katrina struck almost two years ago.

Edwards will travel to 12 cities in eight states "in order to bring attention to the 37 million Americans living in poverty,” he said. He will visit Marks, Miss., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began his Poor People’s March in 1968 and finish in Prestonsburg, Ky., where Robert Kennedy toured poverty-stricken areas in the same year.

Edwards will also meet with Local 100 homecare workers and visit Cleveland, Ohio, to see ACORN’s activities, halting massive home foreclosures in that city.

16-07-07 13:53
MRICKARD

Post-Katrina New Orleans; The rubble that is two years new

In a city where the disaster of Hurricane Katrina has devastated the lives of nearly half a million, there is a ray of hope and happiness shining through. The Ninth Ward of New Orleans is slowly, but surely, being revived thanks to the efforts of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and ACORN. The CAW is the largest private sector union in Canada, dealing with several workplace, economic, and social justice issues, but thanks to bargaining with the “Big 3” (Ford, Chrysler, and GM auto companies), CAW became involved in Canada’s international relief effort.

At the one-year anniversary for Katrina, about 250,000 people were displaced from their homes, and just a few months away from the two-year anniversary almost 50,000 people have moved back. Since August 2006, the CAW, working with ACORN, has helped some of these people return by building six houses in the 9^th Ward. One of those people was Mrs. Jacqueline Buggage, a resident of New Orleans her entire life. She was able to move back into her home in March, following the work of the CAW volunteers. Now she is able to host Sunday dinners for her family, a simple tradition that was impossible before she had her house back because they were spread out throughout the greater New Orleans area, and continue with her life. During their return visit on June 19^th to see the work of their volunteers, Colin Heslop and Jim Mitchell of CAW were happy to see that the homes of people like Ms. Buggage were fully functional and felt like home.

In another visit to the home of Ms. Josephine Butler, Heslop and Mitchell were happy to learn that some of the homes built were designed to be energy efficient. Ms. Butler is 85 years old and has lived in the 9^th Ward since 1949. Her home was built with a steep-slanted roof with a system that allows the hot air to escape, keeping the house cool. The house next to hers has three solar panels, saving the homeowners $100 a month on electricity. After Katrina, Ms. Butler returned to see that her house had been moved across the street and completely destroyed. Surprisingly, she was able to find two vases that her late husband gave her for a present before he passed. The vases were whole and barely touched, leaving Ms. Butler with something happy to remember. Thanks to the efforts of the volunteers, Ms. Butler was able to move back into her brand new home in March.

Unfortunately, there are still 200,000 or more people that have not come home. There are still endless houses to gut; a number of them are on ACORN’s list to fix. The biggest problem right now is money. Mississippi has gotten almost twice as much federal money per family as Louisiana, and that is not how it should be. This lack of money has contributed to a much higher death rate and a higher crime rate. The government’s numbers on the death rate are based solely on the number of deaths in the city, not the surrounding areas. These deaths are also from murder, considering that New Orleans has become the number 1 murder capital of the country. The work of the CAW volunteers has contributed to a rise in concern for the condition of New Orleans. The United Auto Workers have also begun to provide their services for help. With the help of these unions, and the support of community groups like ACORN, New Orleans can once again become the Crescent City.

John Edwards and Danny Glover in New Orleans

ACORN members greeted Presidential Candidate John Edwards and Actor Danny Glover as they revisited the home where John Edwards announced his candidacy. Representing New Orleans East ACORN, were the Community Chair, Cheryl Diggins and her husband Ben Diggins.

Before leaving, Danny Glover ran across the street to enjoy some chocolate cake from another ACORN member.

Gulf Coast Civic Works Project ; Re-New Orleans

"We at Louisiana ACORN congratulate and support the efforts of our university partners as they assist us in rebuilding the Gulf Coast through their proposed Civic Works Program. Even as we struggle to return and rebuild our homes the promise of a student movement gives us strength and encouragement." Stephen Bradberry, Louisiana ACORN

Establishing a Student Movement Towards a Civic Works Project:

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is the national effort to develop federal legislation to create 100,000 jobs for Gulf Coast residents to rebuild their communities. During the Great Depression, when the United States faced a crisis, our country created 800,000 jobs in two weeks, and 4 million jobs in two months. These public workers built or repaired 2,500 hospitals, 6,000 schools, 13,000 playgrounds, and even built the Golden Gate Bridge. They also planted 3 billion trees.

A WPA-like program rebuilt our country in the 1930s; it can do the same today for the Gulf Coast. The parameters for the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project are the following:

• The civic work jobs will be in the areas of construction, plumbing, electrical, brick building, air conditioning, horticulture, etc.

• Paid apprenticeships will be provided to develop a skilled workforce to form a more stable middle-class.

• The civic work jobs will pay a living wage.

• The civic workers will have the right to join unions.

• The local Gulf Coast residents and displaced citizens will have the first opportunity for civic work jobs and training.

• The process to obtain a civic works job will be simple and streamlined.

• The local communities affected by Hurricane Katrina (as well as Hurricane Rita) will decide which structures will be given priority to rebuild. Some communities may focus on roads and Sewage & Water repair, while others focus on schools, hospitals, community centers, or parks.

• Modeled on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)-A community led agency will oversee the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project. This TVA-like agency will ensure transparency so that the American public knows exactly where the money is going.

43 Colleges and Universities across the country have come together to work with ACORN and residents of the Gulf Coast to call on our government to do the American thing and take care of our own. To learn more about this project go to www.solvingpoverty.com

Re-New Orleans:Rebuilding, Recovering, and Organizing: LA ACORN’s Role in saving the 9th Ward

March 29, 2007 the city of New Orleans announced that the Lower 9th ward as one of two neighborhoods targeted for major rebuilding, splitting $145 million with New Orleans East. The announcement marks a tremendous victory for ACORN members fighting to maintain their 9th ward community! Below is a timeline of important actions and moments in the long struggle to save the 9th Ward.

• Immediately following the August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina induced failure of New Orleans levee and flood protection system, the New Orleans chapter of ACORN found staff and members working via text messaging to assist families in getting of the roads and into housing. (read more)

• While this was going on, residents feared that there would be a land-grab for their properties. In particular, residents of New Orleans lower 9th ward were especially fearful because of the lack of resources they traditionally faced. As a result, ACORN members began meeting with their Councilwoman, Cynthia Willard-Lewis, to gain access to their community. (read more)
  

• Although, the lower nine was not officially opened until December 1, 2005 making it the last neighborhood to open for residents to start cleaning and preparing to return home, ACORN members began returning home to look and leave, as well as claim family valuables and memorabilia (read more)
  

• October 15, found ACORN members in the Lower 9th ward putting up the No Bulldozing Signs to demonstrate that residents wanted to have their property and rights respected. Furthermore, October 18, 2005 found ACORN forming the ACORN Katrina Survivors Association to assure that displaced residents maintained a connection with New Orleans as well as to provide a voice for them although they had not yet returned home. (read more)

• On November 7th & 8th, 2005 ACORN held the ACORN Community Forum on Rebuilding New Orleans in Baton Rouge, LA (read more). The video of the conference can be viewed at acorn.org/index.php. At the end of the two-day conference, residents made it clear that they wanted the organization to find a way to people home. To this day, that remains the primary charge for Louisiana ACORN.
  

• November 22, 2005 ACORN and others won a key victory for renters by blocking illegal evictions that would have allowed unscrupulous landlords to evict displaced residents who had not yet had an opportunity to return to New Orleans. November also found the Urban Land Institute putting forth plans that encouraged not building in areas of the city such as the Lower 9th ward.(read more). In fact, quotes such as "The nonprofit Urban Land Institute advised the city in November to consider returning flood-prone areas such as the Lower 9th Ward to wetlands. A city planning committee has recommended that New Orleans shrink its 'footprint' to adjust for a smaller population, using forced buyouts, if necessary, to eject homeowners from neighborhoods deemed not viable." (read more) This only raised the determination of ACORN members and their neighbors to return to their homes.
  

• December 1, 2005 under a threat from ACORN to do a sit-in on the Industrial Canal Bridge the city of New Orleans opened the Lower 9th ward to residents. This occurred at least 2 months after the entire rest of the city had been allowed to return to their homes. December also saw ACORN leading the way towards assisting families in their return efforts by starting the city's first and largest house gutting program. To date the program has gutted over 2,000 houses city-wide and almost 500 in the Lower 9th ward alone.
  January 1, 2006 ACORN members from the Lower 9th ward gathered to ring in the New Year by turning on the lights via generator. The event demonstrated the community's determination to return, as no power had yet been afforded the neighborhood.(read more)
  

• February 8, 2006 saw over 500 New Orleans residents from displaced communities around the country arriving in Washington D.C. to meet with Congress, FEMA, White House representatives, et. al. to argue the case for more money to rebuild the region (read more).
  

• One week prior to the visit, the Administration rejected a Congressional reconstruction plan, stating that the $6.2 billion in CDBG funds given in 2005 was enough (read more ); after the visit the President requested and additional $19.8 billion to rebuild the Gulf Region. (read more).
  

• The D.C. trip was followed by a local rally of over 200 Lower 9th ward residents in the Lower 9th ward to declare their intention to return home. The event gave birth to the area's rallying cry "I'm From that Nine and You Ain't Takin' Mine!" (read more).
  

• ACORN hosted a community workshop featuring eminent domain lawyer Scott Bullock to inform residents of their rights regarding this all important issue. Over 100 residents turned out for the event. (read more)
  

• April's highlight was a planning workshop of over 250 residents who came out to view the beginnings of a community plan for the upper and lower 9th wards. The plans were the results of several community meetings with ACORN members and other community residents in partnership with Cornell University, Pratt Institute, LSU, and the Earth Institute at Columbia Univesity. (read more)
  

• April 2006 was also witness to ACORN assisting 8,000 residents locally and displaced to participate in the historic Mayoral election in line with the organization's overall mission to make sure that low- and moderate-income families have a voce in the decisions that affect their everyday lives. (read more)
  

• In May, ACORN began the fight against City Ordinance #26031 (more) which would have made August 29, 2006, the one year anniversary of the Hurricane the date by which families had to have their homes gutted or risk having them demolished and/or seized. (more)The campaign lasted until August 25, 2006 when the City Council conceded significant amendments to the ordinance (more) providing notification to residents and a much fairer appeals process, including exemption of the Lower 9th ward as a hardship neighborhood and exemption for homes placed on gutting lists of organizations such as ACORN. (read more)
  

• ACORN members, in June, stopped a state bill HB 1108. The bill would have created a Lower 9th Ward Improvement Authority composed of 15 appointed members, who would control all the land in the Lower 9th Ward, destroying the residents' power to decide for themselves what to do with their land. (read More)
  

• In July, ACORN, ACORN Housing, and its university partners won the historical distinction of being the only all non-profit, resident led planners for the rebuilding efforts. The victory came after passing not only the muster of a field of "experts" but winning a majority vote for Districts 7&8, which includes the 8th, Upper 9th, and Lower 9th wards of New Orleans (read more)
  

• In August 2006 the ACORN celebrated the victory against the August 29 gutting deadline mentioned above as well as hosting a "Tour of Hope" through the Lower 9th ward. The tour was praised for its focus on looking forward in a positive manner rather than focusing on the tragedy of the past. (read more)
  

• December 2006 was highlighted by the start of a partnership with Usher's New Look Foundation to bring back the Lower 9 one block at a time. The visit was followed by the organization's work in the area being featured on the NBA's half-time show with Charles Barkley January of 2007 ACORN released The People's Plan for Rebuilding the 9th Ward. The plan brought together information gathered from the thousands of people who participated in the various planning meetings, previous plans, and a survey of over 3,000 structures, 300 businesses and close to 300 households. (read more)
  

• In the month of February 2007, ACORN celebrated the completion of the first two homes to be rebuilt in the lower 9th ward. Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Congressman William Jefferson were on hand to pass the keys to returning lower 9th ward residents. (read more) New Orleans recovery manager, Dr. Ed Blakely who was in attendance offered to work with ACORN to help bring the area back.
  

• On March 12, over 100 ACORN members from across the country held a rally in D.C. as part of ACORN's national legislative conference to call for more support for the Katrina recovery effort. (read more)
  

• March 29, 2007 the city of New Orleans announced that the Lower 9thward as one of two neighborhoods targeted for major rebuilding, splitting $145 million with New Orleans East. The announcement marksa tremendous victory for ACORN members fighting to maintain their 9thward community! (read more)