You will find here information on socially responsible organizations and other useful resources for supporting communities in New Orleans and other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. See the links below.
Updated 10 December 2005
Updated 10 December 2005
Missing persons, housing and shelter, volunteer opportunities, and more.
From the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.
From the State Library of Louisiana. Topics range from missing persons to employment and housing.
"This map is intended for the use of people affected by Hurricane Katrina who have or are trying to find information about the status of specific locations affected by the storm and its aftermath."
"The Katrina PeopleFinder Project NEEDS YOUR HELP to enter data about missing and found people from various online sources. We're requesting as little as an hour of your time. All you need to do is help read unstructured posts about missing or found persons, and then add the relevant data to a database through a simple online form."
"[L]inks to sites that address library community recovery from Hurricane Katrina: helping library workers and their families; fundraising; lists of affected libraries; recovery and preservation efforts."
"A Legal Information Resource for Practitioners and Victims."
"The National Center for Transgender Equality, along with the Task Force and Lambda Legal has released a guide on making evacuation shelters safe and welcoming for transgender evacuees. Our hopes are that this document assists the major shelter managers such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army as well as trans support groups and the LGBT community centers in relevant geographic areas." Download the PDF guide here.
The Hurricane Katrina Emergency Relief Fund for LGBTQ Youth & Families
"For those of us in exile from the region or are still there trying to survive, we hope this site can be used for:
-Finding people we love and meeting fellow citizens.
-Assessing what our communities need wherever we may have landed.
-Collecting our stories, pictures, and art.
-Starting conversations about the issues connected to this disaster.
-Organizing the exile communities of displaced people from the New Orleans region.
-Finding ways to reconnect us all, whether we have access to computers or not."
Updated 10 December 2005
Updated 25 January 2006
See also a more general list of medical resources.
Includes FDA updates on the following:
* Food safety
* Safety of medicines potentially damaged by flooding or high temperatures
* Insulin storage and switching between products by victims of Hurricane
Katrina
* Information and advice about medical devices exposed to high heat and
humidity
"Elsevier is providing two of its medical databases free of charge to medical personnel in shelters and hospitals and to anyone assisting hurricane victim.
User name: KATRINA (notice all uc) and password: katrina (notice all lc) are required."
If You Need Help: Resources for HIV-Positive Hurricane Survivors (includes information on medical care, housing, Medicare/Medicaid, ADAP, and information for people in interrupted clinical trials)
Triage Recommendations for HIV+ Patients from AAHIVM
"AIDS Group Issues HIV Treatment Guidelines for Katrina Evacuees"
The American Academy of HIV Medicine's "Recommendations for the Triage of HIV+ Patients" target physicians in areas with large numbers of Hurricane Katrina evacuees who may have had little experience treating HIV patients.
The document recommends the following steps:
*Treating active opportunistic infections or other infections with antibiotics or other appropriate medication is first priority.
*Try to determine the patient's CD4-cell count. Varying CD-4 counts put patients at risk of opportunistic infections for which they should be screened, such as HIV-related pneumonia for those with counts below 200; histoplasmos is, toxoplasmosis, and cryptococcal meningitis for those with counts below 100; and mycobacterium avium complex and systemic fungal disease for those with counts below 50.
*While both prophylactic and antiretroviral treatment courses should be continued if possible, doctors should place a priority on the administration of anti-HIV drugs to avoid treatment interruption.
*If patients cannot access all their antiretrovirals, every drug should be stopped, rather than continuing only one or two.
*Tetanus shots should be administered to HIV patients.
*While live-virus vaccines should be used with caution in HIV patients, they should be safe for patients with CD-4 counts above 350.
The guidelines include information on which drug combinations to use and which to avoid, treating pregnant women, HIV post-exposure prophylaxis, and rapid HIV testing.
More information, including help accessing HIV specialists and clinics, is available at the American Academy of HIV Medicine. Also visit HIV/AIDS Medical Practice Guidelines from AIDSinfo.
See the following sites:
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Protect Yourself from Mold" guidelines
* The Environmental Protection Agency's mold guide
* Dealing with Mold from the Bay Area Radical Health Collective
Boiling water, when practical, is the preferred way to kill harmful bacteria and parasites. Bringing water to a rolling boil for 1 minute will kill most organisms. Boiling will not remove chemical contaminants. If you suspect or are informed that water is contaminated with chemicals, seek another source of water, such as bottled water.
If you can't boil water, you can treat water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets, or unscented household chlorine bleach (5.25% sodium hypochlorite Do not use bleach which contains detergents). If you use chlorine tablets or iodine tablets, follow the directions that come with the tablets. If you use household chlorine bleach, add 1/8 teaspoon (~0.75 milliliter [mL]) of bleach per gallon of water if the water is clear. For cloudy water, add 1/4 teaspoon (~1.50 mL) of bleach per gallon. Mix the solution thoroughly and let it stand for about 30 minutes before using it. Treating water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets, or liquid bleach will not kill many parasitic organisms. Boiling is the best way to kill these organisms.
Household iodine from the medicine chest of first aid kit will purify water. The iodine should be 2% United States Pharmacopoeia (U. S. P.) strength. Add 20 drops per gallon of clear water, and 40 drops per gallon of cloudy water. Seal the container and let stand for 30 minutes. The water supply will be safe for an indefinite period.
Water Purification Tablets will also purify water. Follow manufacturer's directions. Water purification tablets are available at drug stores and camping supply departments of your local stores.
See also How to Purify Water and Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water from the EPA (in English and Español/Spanish)
Updated 10 December 2005
Join the call for Amnesty for all arrested & imprisoned for taking care of themselves and loved ones during Hurricane Katrina.
Hurricane Katrina has generated a storm of criticism about the indifference and ineptitude of the second Bush administration's response. The Hurricane Katrina timeline indicates some deficiencies in FEMA but also in planning and funding processes. This is a partial summary of the commentary.
Alternative news, analysis, and opinion. Includes a frequently-updated "Hurricane Katrina Aftermath" section.
Grassroots journalism through the New Orleans Independent Media Center. Daily postings.
A blog from Waveland, Mississippi, where there is a large grassroots relief effort including many Rainbow Family folks among others.
"Eyewitness, politically charged, on-the-ground truth telling from New Orleans, southern Louisiana and Mississippi." A blog from activist and writer Naomi Archer.
An online gateway to documents and maps about humanitarian emergencies and disasters, administered by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In the blitz of media coverage surrounding Hurricane Katrina, it’s hard to wrap your head around exactly what happened. ThinkProgress has created a Katrina timeline that catalogues the most important events.
An anarchist publication from NEFAC containing first hand account and analysis of the devestating effects of hurricane Katrina on the gulf coast of the U.S., and the underlying class expliotation, racism and enviromental destruction that exacerbated the tragedy; as well as stories about what anarchists are doing to help and how you can contribute.
Old news, of course, but perhaps worth looking at these days...From Popular Mechanics.
More old news, recently made available again online. From the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Edited by Jonathan Rochkind with help from Radical Reference.
Last Updated: 20 October 05
This page is meant to aid people in their research to discover socially responsible venues of Hurricane Katrina relief. We are attempting to help you find relief efforts that meet one or more of these conditions:
This page is a research aid, not a recommendation from us. The organizations and efforts listed here are not personally known or recommended by the editor or Radical Reference. Where available, we will hilight attributed recommendations by other recognized progressive and radical entities. Suggestions for additional information can be sent to info [at] radicalreference.org.
A list of grassroots organizations that provide immediate disaster relief to poor people and people of color.
Generally, efforts included in the above extensive directory from Spark Foundation/Mayday are not duplicated here in this Radical Reference list.
A national network of [progressive] faith-based community organizations working to create innovative solutions to problems facing urban, suburban and rural communities.
To donate money or other resources please call Alia Zaki, PICO Operations Manager, who is coordinating this effort. Her phone number: 619-501-1804 azaki [at] piconetwork.org
"The Tides community has a history of supporting victims of natural and civil disasters across the globe, and many of you have already contacted us about this terrible event. As always, Tides staff will work closely with groups to identify how money can best be distributed. The Rapid Response Fund pools donors' resources to increase the impact of their giving, and our staff quickly researches and distributes the funds. Tides works to ensure the money is received by effective grassroots and advocacy organizations working for short-term relief as well as for long-term economic and structural change."
Via Campesina is an international farmers/peasants movement. They sent out a press release identifying relief efforts targetted at family farmers and rural areas which are supported/reccommended by their US member, the National Family Farm Coalition. These include:
"Cafe Mawonaj has been organizing to provide aid to people in Algiers (current population 5000), and Ward 7, 8, and 9 of New Orleans since the week after Katrina hit.
[...]
"Cafe Mawonaj has made three trips from DC to New Orleans in the last few weeks, bringing in much needed supplies (medical, food, and clothing). They are working with MayDay DC, Common Dreams, and Food Not Bombs to provide daily feedings and an extremely important 'First Aid Center.'"
Our friend Kate from the Iron Rail Bookstore and Library in New Orleans (which thankfully has not yet been flooded/burned down) says that if you want to support local, class-and race-conscious organizers working with displaced New Orleans residents, the following are worthy candidates:
Community Labor United Critical Resistance
If ever there is a moment to call for examination and correcting of social justice related issues, it is now. Following are the websites of several groups from the South that have joined in the recovery efforts and are
raising the flag for social justice:
- The Praxis Project has
a page on what can be done to help Katrina victims that includes legislative action, strategy tips, and links to groups.
- The Southern Empowerment Project has links to many Southern justice groups that are responding to Katrina.
We will keep you informed as new projects and movements emerge.
Compiled by hip-hop artist Kevin Powell.
List of organizations reccommended by Alternet, a progressive/alternative media site.
The NYCoRE provides a curriculur resource for educators: An Unnatural Disaster: A Critical Guide for Addressing the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the Classroom. The guide includes as an appendix a nice list of "grassroots organizations offering charitable giving alternatives to the massive NGOs utilizing most of the contributions flooding their accounts for administrative costs," compiled with some of the same goals we have here.
"Get Your Act On! is a non-partisan network of concerned groups and individuals that support dignity, respect and fundamental human rights for all. Our mission is to foster a solid social and political network throughout New Orleans focusing on finding areas of agreement while setting aside differences, creating a broad range of peoples working together to effect real and necessary change."
The group has worked on voter registration drives and, post-Katrina, is planning to run a soup kitchen out of a house in New Orleans in the aftermath.
The National Congress of American Indians has set up a relief fund to assist tribes and their members in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Six federally recognized tribes are located in the three states, which were hit by wind, rain and flooding.
To donate to the NCAI Hurricane Relief Fund, send donations to:
National Congress of American Indians
1301 Connecticut Ave, NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
Put Hurricane Relief in subject line of check. All donations will go to the tribes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Readers may be interested in the Anarchist Katrina Response mailing list. The archives of the list are publically readable, and contain information on some interesting relief efforts.
Also, relief information from Infoshop News about mutual aid efforts.
The Neighborhood story Project "will spend the next 4 months working with evacuee high school students to document the stories of people living in the Astrodome. They are in the process of reprinting the original Neighborhood Story Project Books at a printshop in Houston. The original books, each written by a high school student about their neighborhood in New Orleans, were the best-selling books in New Orleans over the summer, behind Harry Potter 6. All remaining copies were destroyed in the flooding."
"The Neighborhood Story Project books are a great way for young people whose families have lost everything in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to make money as authors, and to tell the stories of their communities and culture in New Orleans. Book sales will also support efforts by the NSP to help young people document the stories and experiences of evacuees living in the Astrodome."
"Anyone who wants to help get their local independent bookstore to take a box of these incredible books to sell as a way to raise money for relief and recovery, and as a way to get out the amazing stories of the people and neighborhoods of New Orleans, please contact jamieschweser [at] yahoo.com."
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta
A nonprofit community development financial institution started ten years ago by an African-American church congregation. They also sponsor the HOPE Community Credit Union.
Solidarity House
Baton Rouge Catholic Worker
1275 Laurel St
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone: 504-389-9572
Publication: Baton Rouge Catholic Worker
"The People’s Institute was created to develop more analytical, culturally-rooted and effective community organizers....Today, The People’s Institute is recognized as one of the foremost anti-racism training and organizing institutions in the nation." They are currently trying to rebuild their offices.
The NOMC is a grassroots organization that provides free medical care to musicians in New Orleans. They have relocated to Lafayette to re-establish themselves and start helping displaced musicians.
Emergence Broadcast System is a New York-based anarchist project that is "bringing wireless communications to people in and around New Orleans, setting up mobile info-points where they can access internet, e-mail and make phone calls to friends and family." They can accept monetary donations.
"The Geaux Library Project will attempt to meet the information needs at hurricane evacuee shelters around Louisiana and beyond. Using computers and networking equipment donated to the Red Cross and others by large commercial and local IT companies, we will be setting up small computer labs at Red Cross shelters and staffing them with librarians and other trained volunteers."
You can help this project by donating office supplies (or gift certificates for supplies). They cannot accept monetary donations. If you can get to Louisiana and have appropriate training, you can be a volunteer.
Mostly mainstream organizations are highlighted on the "donate" list, but this site is a good way to find all kinds of volunteer opportunities.
Updated 25 January 2006
Below is a list of resources regarding help for the mental and emotional effects of trauma caused by hurricanes.
Books
Available at your local, independent bookseller or infoshop.
* Common Shock: Witnessing Violence Every Day, How We Are Harmed, How We Can Heal by Kaethe Weingarten
* Coping With Trauma: A Guide to Self Understanding by Jon Allen
* Effects of and Interventions for Childhood Trauma from Infancy to Adolescence: Pain Unspeakable by Sandra B. Hutchison
* Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence From Domestic Abuse To Political Terror by Judith Herman
* Waking the Tiger : Healing Trauma: The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences by Peter A. Levine and Ann Frederick