Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Akron man interrupts armed burglar
Fan in LeBron's Heat jersey draws ire in Cleveland
Father Sam revelations are painful
Police: Ohio baby who died had adult bite marks
Store apologizes for treatment of Ohio nursing mom
Police in Ohio find woman and 2 kids out naked
Drivers give Fairlawn roundabout thumbs-up
1st U.S. execution of woman since 2005 set for Sept.
Blogs:
The330:
Akron Zoo’s $500,000 Conservation Carousel opens to public Saturday
Akron Docs in Haiti:
Orphans in Fondwa
First Bell - On Education:
Busing, sports fees and class size on table if Copley-Fairlawn schools levy fails
Pets:
Paws & Pitches at Canal Park
The Heldenfiles:
"So You Think You Can Dance" Notes
Akron Zips:
Poll: What season are you anticipating most?
Tribe Matters:
Thursday’s Indians lineup
Cleveland Browns:
Links to Browns coverage: July 30, 2010
Kent State Sports:
Key MAC Games Of 2010 Season
Cleveland Cavaliers:
LeBron still has at least one fan in Cleveland
Buckeye Blogging:
10 Hurdles Standing Between Ohio State and Another National Championship
Varsity Letters:
Important Dates for Upcoming High School Football Season
All Da King's Men:
Arizona Immigration Law Blocked, Drug Cartels Rejoice
Blog of Mass Destruction:
"Muslims Hate Jews, Christians &…Dogs"
Akron Law Café:
Is BP Cornering the Market on Oil Spill Research?
Car Chase:
Sunday – or Anyday Drives
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Brangelina to Buy in Santorini?
Sound Check:
Ohio alt-rock stars weigh in on Lebron….John Mayer too..
HRLite House:
From the White House – New Federal Approach to Hiring
By Sue Lacy
Published on Tuesday, Sep 01, 2009
During this week of the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, most of us in Northeast Ohio probably believe climate change is a distant threat especially since this summer has been fairly cool and damp. However, Larry Schweiger, the chief executive of the National Wildlife Federation, recently delivered a message in Akron that may have given us cause to question our assumptions.
Most of us don't think about these potential threats on a daily basis, but residents of New Orleans and Gulf Coast communities face these threats on a daily basis.
Last year, I got a taste of what coastal residents experience. Hurricane Gustav was entering the Gulf of Mexico last August, while my colleague Katie Fry and I were in New Orleans. We didn't know whether we would get out in time. We talked to people who wondered whether they would ever come back.
Katie and I were in Louisiana as community organizers, working since late 2006 to ensure displaced New Orleanians have a voice in the plans to rebuild their city and their lives. Through our affiliation with AmericaSpeaks, which was coordinating the project (the same organization that led the Voices & Choices Project in Northeast Ohio), we were able to hire organizers to work with us — one had been evacuated from her rooftop and another had lived in a trailer supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
We organized two meetings in Houston connected via satellite with New Orleans and other cities. We worked with residents in the largest FEMA trailer park to present federal, state and local officials with a transition plan to permanent affordable housing. As FEMA closed most trailer parks, we conducted outreach to hotels and homeless shelters across Louisiana.
Then Gustav hit the southeastern portion of the state, battering communities north along the Mississippi to Baton Rouge. Days later, Ike struck the southwestern portion of the state. Coastal communities were swallowed.
From the Lower Ninth Ward to the bayou communities across the entire southern coast, residents were having a collective experience. Devastating storms followed by inadequate public response, resulting in slow recovery, followed by more devastating storms.
We expanded outreach across the state, forming the Rebuilding Lives Coalition. A statewide summit was held in January that brought over 250 citizens together to establish a shared agenda. Elected leaders, agency staff, faith and community leaders attended. Coastal restoration, affordable rental housing, homeowner assistance, effective case management and cutting red tape were identified as top priorities for action.
The coalition is engaging citizens, policymakers, elected officials, agency leaders and private sector leadership in cooperative problem-solving and the creation of new opportunities to rebuild lives and communities. Coalition leaders have advocated successfully to extend rental assistance, raise $20 million in gap financing for those still rebuilding their homes, expand affordable bus service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and create a new oversight committee to ensure effective case management. Plans are under way to organize a multisector summit on coastal restoration.
What are the lessons for Northeast Ohio?
Remember the winds of Ike as they reached our own communities. Louisiana is the canary in the coal mine. It is losing the equivalent of 33 football fields per day of coastal wetland. However, the people of Louisiana are coming together, uniting to save their unique history, their homes and their livelihood.
Northeast Ohioans could learn a thing or two about rebuilding their own region— we also must come together across geographic, economic, cultural and racial lines to act collectively and decisively.
Lacy is the president of Round River Consulting in Akron.
During this week of the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, most of us in Northeast Ohio probably believe climate change is a distant threat especially since this summer has been fairly cool and damp. However, Larry Schweiger, the chief executive of the National Wildlife Federation, recently delivered a message in Akron that may have given us cause to question our assumptions.
Get the full article here.
Most Commented Stories
- 137
- 54
- 53
- 47
- 45
- 45
- 37
- 25
- 24
- 17
