Elderly in New Orleans find tough going

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: UPI

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Nearly half of the 85,000 elderly people displaced by Hurricane Katrina have returned New Orleans, many finding only squalor and rubble.

Public and private sectors designed to aid the elderly report being overwhelmed by need, the Los Angeles Times said Tuesday.

Space is available at nursing homes but is limited at assisted living centers that cater to the moderately infirm, the Times reported.

"A nursing home is a slaughterhouse," said Joyce Simms Wood, 77, who can barely walk and lives alone in a trailer in front of her damaged house.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/09/18/elderly_in_new_orleans_find_tough_going/5944/

[allisonthegreat]

1. I find that this is dispicable

as well as disgraceful. It makes me wonder if the conspiracy concept is correct after all.

However the elderly in many situations are treated like second class citizens even without the two year old disaster hanging over them like a blanket of death, stench and rot. Absolutely disgraceful and Chernoff should be fired.

[rudy23]

2. Has B*sh named a successor to Karl Rove as recovery chief?

It's simply amazing that that move was never questioned by our media or our leaders. Once they got away with that, they knew they could get away with anything.

And there's no conspiracy theory about it--come down to N.O., and talk to a few people. This is very real, and Democrats (besides Edwards) are doing nothing, NOTHING about it.

[allisonthegreat]

4. Unfortunately

I rely on what i see on television through msm and what i read on the internet. i would love to come to NO. Just seeing the special about the animals was bad enough, but now this. i am sure there is more suffering than we are being shown.
it was bad here after hugo in '89 but not nearly as catastrophic with the mass flooding and all.
somebody really needs to see why this happening and put and end to it quickly.

[KamaAina]

5. That'd be Michael Powell -- who was named just before Fitzmas

when it seemed prudent for Bush**co to keep Rove under wraps for a while.

The fact that you, a city resident, remained unaware of this development speaks volumes about Powell's, and by extension the government's, willful neglect. :grr: :banghead:

[rudy23]

7. I'm not in N.O., but your point stands. I expect this neglect from the R's, it's the Dems that are

blowing my mind with their willful ignorance and neglect of the region. I guess New Orleans doesn't poll well enough with mainstream America.

Here's a sneak preview, America---most Democrats don't care about you either.

[KamaAina]

9. And it's not even Michael Powell, it's Donald Powell

proof of what a complete nonentity he is is that he has no Wiki entry!

Michael Powell is, of course, the former FCC chair and son of Colin. What a :dunce: I am!

[shireen]

3. a society can be measured by how it treats its children and elderly

Stories like this make me sick to my stomach. Are there any private relief agencies that can help these people? I'll chip a few bucks their way.

[shireen]

6. CONTACT CLINTON FOUNDATION. please K&R this thread for more visibility.

http://www.clintonfoundation.org/

He and Bush Sr. are involved in Hurricane Katrina relief. Flood Clinton with emails to bring this to his attention.
http://www.clintonfoundation.org/
(click "contact us" takes you to
http://www.clintonfoundation.org/contact.htm )

If you want to cite the UPI link, I've created a tinyurl, http://tinyurl.com/37qjta , because the link is quite long.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. Thanks for doing that

Everything helps in a situation such as this.

[EFerrari]

8. kick

[TheWatcher]

11. Surely you jest.

Downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter are vibrant and Robust with tourist activity and things are Bright and Prosperous. Every time Bush visits, things just seem to get better and better.

And how bout Dem Saints! They are projected to go all the way this year! Good for the Economy.

Yes New Orleans is on the rebound and just like Iraq, you aren't reporting the "Good News" and focusing on a couple of isolated bad stories.

The Gulf Coast Is BACK BABY!

:sarcasm:

Welcome To Rome. Or Hell. Whichever fits the bill at this point. I am no longer really sure.

I cannot believe what is going on in this country.

[KamaAina]

12. For some reason the UPI link is not working for me

I keep getting a dialog "Operation aborted".

If you're getting that, here is another link:

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/109720.html

[Lone_Star_Dem]

13. Thank you for that

I wasn't aware of a problem, but you may not have been the only one effected by it.

[shireen]

14. Kick

please contact the Clinton Foundation (see my post above), or any other organization you think might be able to help (and please mention that org., so I can send them a few bucks).

[pitohui]

15. people w. special needs should think twice before coming back

there are limited medical facilities and doctors and it will be a long time before they are replaced

maybe some people don't believe in or don't understand about the atlantic hurricane cycle but we remain at high risk for at least another 10 years, and it is possible with global climate change that we will forever be at high risk

people who are not mobile and who cannot easily drive to evacuate themselves or who cannot shelter in place and easily withstand the heat when there is no electricity -keeping in mind that in the days after katrina the heat index was 108 degrees F and that we are at highest risk of hurricanes in the gulf in august and september (the hottest months) -- then it just seems wrong to me to encourage the elderly to return -- you are killing some of those people as good as if you put a gun to their heads, telling them to come back here

there is no evidence that the climate is suddenly going to be milder and that this is an area that will be safe for retired and especially the older elderly, one couple i know that was killed was in their 90s and the coroner will tell you that the ages of the people who died was skewed overwhelmingly toward the elderly

while the vulnerable elderly who are displaced should be helped, they should be helped to secure themselves in a community on higher ground

putting people back in harm's way, because we lack the courage to be honest about what is happening to our world and our climate, can't be ethical -- in many cases politicians and activists are putting people back in harm's way out of self interest, to feel good about themselves, with no real hard look at what they are doing to the people they supposedly are "helping"

nursing homes should not be allowed on ground less than 15 feet above sea level, that's all there is to it, how many more people have to die?


it is also wrong for florida to continue to lure older people, knowing that sooner or later a similar storm will hit one of their coasts, but apparently money trumps all

[Lone_Star_Dem]

16. This is really about people with nothing and no place else

It's really not as if they have a plethora of choices, which is the problem.

This gentleman is not worried about the next storm, just his last few months on this earth and what he leaves behind.

From the above article:

Others, such as former handyman Charles Taylor, 81, are looking to the future and what they have to leave behind. Taylor, who has stomach and liver cancer, has been restoring his duplex for family members who will survive him, the Times reported. Taylor estimates he has about six months to live.

"But I ain't going to stop though," he said. "I might die, but I ain't going to give up."