November 18, 2007

Help Katrina Survivors Come Back Home

UPDATE: My Private Cabash blog shared information about other serious public housing issues impacting on New Orleans. Click here to see the full story on destruction of public housing in that city.


Villagers, There were a number of public housing residents impacted by Hurricane Katrina. They have been blocked from returning home for over two years. New Orleans leaders are concerned that The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 (HR 1227 / S. 1668) is being stalled in the US Senate.

This bill would help Katrina-impacted public housing residents come home by repairing and opening thousands of minimally damaged public housing units. The bill passed in the House of Representatives, but some senators are standing in the way of the bill, supporting the interests of those who would like to see a richer, Whiter New Orleans and Gulf Coast.




Villagers, is Katrina still on our minds and hearts entering into this thanksgiving season? If so, sign the online petition to help these brothers and sisters out.

3 comments:

bint alshamsa said...

You might be interested in this as well:

All Public Housing Units In New Orleans Set To Be Demolished

Feel free to re-post the information anywhere you think people will listen. We need all the help we can get down here.

Anonymous said...

The public housing got demolished anyway and people on site who were protesting were brutally assaulted. Letters to the editors publicly listing legislators and business who took part can keep the light on the wrongness of what continues to take place in New Orleans. Another practical request is being made in the following email to help maintain the health care services for those who would have gone back to those public housing units. below.

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Dear INCITE! Supporters,

As you may have heard, the New Orleans City Council approved the HUD program of demolishing the public housing in New Orleans. Activists and community members organized to influence the vote, however they were brutally assaulted by police during the "hearing," pepper sprayed, and tasered. Public housing residents are predominantly women and children of color. Denying safe housing is an act of violence and it also increases vulnerability to domestic and sexual violence, and poverty. It’s an anti-violence issue. It's also a population control issue, an act of racial cleansing and reproductive violence. Gentrification and forced displacement is happening to women of color and our communities across the U.S. and abroad.

For more information about this struggle, see the following links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7154954.stm
http://blog.nola.com/tpvideo/2007/12/housing_debate_turns_violent_i_1.html

Below is an appeal letter for the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic, a project of INCITE! New Orleans. Please consider supporting this critical project as one way to build the capacity of women of color-led movements for peace and safety.


- INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence

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December 2007

“Moving from the margins to the center is vital for the health and well being of women of color and poor women. To do so, we must address the control and exploitation of our bodies and the regulation of our reproduction. We must center our needs and experiences by designing a table without restrictions or exploitation, dictating who can sit where and when….creating a location which we feel is ours to sit at and be heard…The New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic is that table.”


-Shana griffin



Dear Supporters of the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic:

Even before Hurricane Katrina, women of color and low income women in New Orleans lacked access to basic health care. Today, twenty-eight months after the storm, the limited health care resources that existed before the storm for low income and uninsured individuals have yet to be replaced, despite repeated commitments by public officials to create a “better system.” In reality, this “better system” includes plans to shift from public services to subsidized private health insurance, leaving over 60 percent of Louisiana ’s most vulnerable residents without health insurance or a safety net.

Combined with the loss of needed public resources and the continuation of economic isolation, gender inequality, environmental hazards, limited housing affordability, and racial discrimination, this lack of services and access to safe, affordable preventative care is equal to a public health disaster that directly impacts women of color and low-income women – particularly those who are young, uninsured, immigrant, elders, head of households, HIV/AIDS positive, homeless, sex workers, queer, disabled/differently-abled, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, and living in public housing – as they face increased barriers to health care.

The need to organize to address this public health crisis in New Orleans is clear, but the specific needs of women and the issues of sexual and reproductive oppression have not been prioritized in the rebuilding of the city. The manifestations of ill-health, lack of preventative care, inadequate medical resources, and the absence of a comprehensive health policy paint an unpromising picture as the voices of low income and uninsured women of color are largely silenced. Despite this harsh reality, the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic (NOWHC), a women of color-led project, has become a CRITICAL resource with vast potential for comprehensive health education and grassroots organizing activities.

The mission of the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic is to equip marginalized and underserved women with the means to control and care for their own bodies, sexuality, and reproduction through a holistic, community-centered well women approach to health care which integrates sexual health and reproductive justice. Through the organizing and health advocacy work of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic was conceived to combine health services with a political analysis of the oppression that prevents low income, uninsured, immigrant, disabled/differently-abled, formerly incarcerated, and LBTQ women of color from receiving comprehensive health care.

NOWHC not only provides health care services, but also addresses the social invisibility of low-income women of color that allows their needs to be chronically ignored and unmet. As corporate healthcare programs attempt to fill the gaps in health care existing for low-income women in New Orleans, NOWHC stands out as a clinic that is grassroots in origin and support, and that incorporates an analysis of the root causes of the current health care crisis into the services it provides.

Since the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic opened in May of this year, the demand for our services has steadily increased month by month. We currently provide a range of gynecological care and preliminary obstetrical visits including pregnancy testing and counseling; pap smears; pelvic exams; diagnosis and treatment of irregular menstruation, vaginal, urinary tract, and sexually transmitted infections; comprehensive sex education and access to safe and effective contraceptives; and prenatal care and education. The low cost sliding fee scale rates of the Clinic are possible due to the support we’ve received this year, most of which has come from individuals like you.

Most recently, we established a Women’s Healthcare Fund, designed to ensure that uninsured women who cannot afford the cost of care or medications can receive care at NOWHC. In the coming year, NOWHC plans to begin providing midwifery care, expand our services to gender variant people, conduct educational workshops at the Clinic space and in community settings throughout the city, and engage in base building activities to build support and awareness of the Clinic locally and nationally.

At NOWHC, we are working to build the “table,” as we continue to assist women access safe, affordable, and quality health services and resources they need to take care of their over health, bodies, sexuality, and reproductive. To continue this, we are asking you to support the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic in the following ways:


Make a financial contribution to the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic. We rely primarily on donations from individuals such as you to provide sliding scale medical services to local women, and organize to build our long-term capacity. Donations help NOWHC to pay living wage salaries, rent and maintain our space, and cover the cost of laboratory services for uninsured women. A financial contribution of $50 will provide an annual exam for a woman who otherwise could not afford one, through our Women’s Health Care Fund. Hosting a benefit house party will raise enough for a supplies order or a piece of medical equipment, as well as spread the word about NOWHC. In addition to financial donations, we are also accepting gift cards from Office Depot, and prepaid medical supply orders through PSS Medical Supplies. Financial contributions should be made out to our fiscal sponsor: Women With A Vision, with NOWHC listed in the memo line of checks. Checks and gift cards should be mailed to:
New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic
1406 Esplanade Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70116

Spread the word about the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic. Publicity in local, national, and international press helps NOWHC spread the word about our services, connects us with people engaged in similar work, provides publicity, and generates support. But, it’s something we often don’t have time to coordinate ourselves. If you have an idea for an article, please contact us at 504.524.8255 or at nowhc_info@yahoo.com for an interview and press points. Alternately, reach people directly by spreading the word about NOWHC to five potential donors. Your direct appeal saves us time and administrative costs!

Donate needed supplies to the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic. The supplies that NOWHC uses daily really add up. Additionally, there are several pieces of medical equipment that we still need. If you would like to sponsor a supply order, or have supplies or equipment to donate, please contact Cassandra Burrows at nowhc_info@yahoo.com to determine if NOWHC can use them, or to get a list of needed supplies. Please don’t send unsolicited material.

The New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic warmly thanks our network of donors and volunteers for your continued generous support. You are needed now more than ever. Our ability to provide needed services, maintain autonomy, and participate in grassroots organizing is made possible through the support of individuals and organizations in our community and nationwide.

Sincerely,

Shana M. griffin, Isabel Barrios Mayaba Liebenthal
Interim Director Board Member Board Member

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INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence
PO Box 226
Redmond, WA 98073
phone: 484-932-3166
incite_national@yahoo.com
www.incite-national.org

Unknown said...

Bint and Figahjcw - Thank you very much for sharing this information with villagers that visit this blog. I've been keeping track of the situation via exchanges taking place in The AfroSpear GG. Your information is helpful as well.