National FEMA Trailer Tour

Good Morning, Friends -

The KatrinaRitaVille Express has just arrived in Manhattan!   This time around, our traveling FEMA trailer is in the Big Apple to help make sure your citizens’ agenda for complete gulf coast recovery, justice and future disaster preparedness is fully heard and understood by the Ford Foundation, Senator Mary Landrieu, and key White House officials.

The specific occasion is a Ford Foundation Forum entitled, Metropolitan Opportunity and the Gulf Coast: Revitalizing American Cities. The  panelists include our own Derrick Johnson of the MS Conference NAACP and James Perry of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (and NOLA mayoral candidate).  A well-prepared group of survivors, advocates and allies will be on hand as well, from the New York Katrina-Rita Survivors Assembly, Louisiana Children’s Defense Fund, the Advancement Project, Gulf Coast Civic Works Campaign, 21st Century Foundation, and the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health.

Following our recent victories in Washington (to halt trailer evictions) and Biloxi (to block local defiance of the Washington victory), we continue to draw strength and momentum from our re-energized base of allied survivors, community groups and national partners.

Stay tuned as we embark on a summer of continuous education and advocacy – including Gulf Coast Civic Works, overhauling the Stafford Act, restoring our environment, recognizing internally displaced persons (IDPs) and empowering local citizens and community groups to meaningfully influence our region’s redevelopment.