An inspiring story about grassroots efforts post-Katrina

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Here’s an account by a reporter on the ground in NO about the community effort to offer services and rebuild the community (some good pics).

New Orleans Activists Fill Aid Gaps Left by FEMA, Red Cross
by Jessica Azulay, The NewStandard
http://newstandardnews.net

“Rather than wait for help from giant institutions preoccupied elsewhere, and instead of building a legacy of dependence, local groups have sprung up to recover poor and working-class neighborhoods through collective organizing.”

“At any given time, about 30 volunteers with the grassroots relief organization Common Ground Collective work from early morning until late at night in a small corner of the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans. They unload trucks, patch people’s homes, staff an on-site distribution center, and drive supplies out to surrounding regions.”

“In the face of the inadequate official response, small groups like Common Ground are struggling to pick up the slack. They work with few monetary resources and volunteer labor in an effort to reach those underserved by powerful relief agencies. They combine their humanitarian efforts with an alternative vision of rebuilding that seeks to empower and restore dignity to the people of this struggling city.”

“Across the river, in the Treme neighborhood, another grassroots initiative sprung up while the floodwaters were still rising. A group of residents there worked tirelessly during the storm to rescue their neighbors from the water when they were all but abandoned by various government-sanctioned responders. Dubbed the "Soul Patrol," the group of mostly young black men is believed by locals to have helped save and evacuate hundreds of people.”

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2519