FYI regarding a community based response to the natural and man-made disaster in New Orleans. The organizers outline a plan to create a centralized communications center.
****** Displaced New Orleans Community Demands Action, Accountability and Initiates A Peoples Hurricane Fund Not until the fifth day of the federal governments inept and inadequate emergency response to the New Orleans disaster did George Bush even acknowledge it was unacceptable. Unacceptable doesnt begin to describe the depth of the neglect, racism and classism shown to the people of New Orleans. The governments actions and inactions were criminal. New Orleans, a city whose population is almost 70% percent black, 40% illiterate, and many are poor, was left day after day to drown, to starve and to die of disease and thirst. The people of New Orleans will not go quietly into the night, scattering across this country to become homeless in countless other cities while federal relief funds are funneled into rebuilding casinos, hotels, chemical plants and the wealthy white districts of New Orleans like the French Quarter and the Garden District. We will not stand idly by while this disaster is used as an opportunity to replace our homes with newly built mansions and condos in a gentrified New Orleans. Community Labor United (CLU), a coalition of the progressive organizations throughout New Orleans, has brought community members together for eight years to discuss socio-economic issues. We have been communicating with people from The Quality Education as a Civil Right Campaign, the Algebra Project, the Young Peoples Project and the Louisiana Research Institute for Community Empowerment. We are preparing a press release and framing document that will be out as a draft later today for comments. Here is what we are calling for: We are calling for all New Orleanians remaining in the city to be evacuated immediately. We are calling for information about where every evacuee was taken. We are calling for black and progressive leadership to come together to meet in Baton Rouge to initiate the formation of a Community Oversight Committee of evacuees from all the sites. This committee will demand to oversee FEMA, the Red Cross and other organizations collecting resources on behalf of our people. We are calling for volunteers to enter the shelters where our people are and to assist parents with housing, food, water, health care and access to aid. We are calling for teachers and educators to carve out some time to come to evacuation sites and teach our children. We are calling for city schools and universities near evacuation sites to open their doors for our children to go to school. We are calling for health care workers and mental health workers to come to evacuation sites to volunteer. We are calling for lawyers to investigate the wrongful death of those who died, to protect the land of the displaced, to investigate whether the levies broke due to natural and other related matters. We are calling for evacuees from our community to actively participate in the rebuilding of New Orleans. We are calling for the addresses of all the relevant list serves and press contacts to send our information. We are in the process of setting up a central command post in Jackson, MS, where we will have phone lines, fax, email and a web page to centralize information. We will need volunteers to staff this office. We have set up a Peoples Hurricane Fund that will be directed and administered by New Orleanian evacuees. The Young Peoples Project, a 501(c)3 organization formed by graduates of the Algebra Project, has agreed to accept donations on behalf of this fund. Donations can be mailed to: The Peoples Hurricane Fund c/o The Young Peoples Project 99 Bishop Allen Drive Cambridge, MA 02139 If you have comments of how to proceed or need more information, please email them to Curtis Muhammad ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and Becky Belcore ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). Thank you. -----Original Message----- From: Taran Rampersad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sep 3, 2005 4:01 PM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [DDN] New Government site calls for volunteers Cuba did offer 1,100 doctors to the United States. Just for the record. J Cravens wrote: > New Government site calls for volunteers > http://www.volunteer.hhs.gov/ > > Some text: > > The Office of The Surgeon General and the Office of Public Health > Emergency Preparedness are in the process of mobilizing and > identifying healthcare professionals and relief personnel to assist in > Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. As our nation and global community > is now aware, the healthcare needs resulting from Katrina are critical. > > We are currently looking for multidisciplinary healthcare > professionals and relief personnel with expertise in the following areas: > > Administration/Finance Officers > Nursing Assistants/Nursing Support Technicians > Chaplain/Social Worker > Nursing Staff Directors > Clinical Physicians > Patient Transporters/Volunteers > Dentists > Pharmacists > Dieticians > Psychologists > Epidemiologists > Physician's Assistants or Nurse Practitioners > Environmental Health > Physician Chiefs of Staff > Epidemiologists > Respiratory Therapists > Facility Managers > RNs > Housekeepers > Safety Officers > IT/Communications Officers > Security Officers > LPNs > Social Workers > Medical Clerks > Supply Managers > Mental Health Workers > Veterinarians > > If you are a Healthcare Professional or relief personnel with > expertise in the above areas and would like to volunteer*, please > complete the form below. > > MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS (MRC) MEMBERS: > To ensure that your local community needs are met first, please > contact your local MRC unit leader prior to completing this > application form. > > The Office of the Surgeon General will be contacting those that meet > the requirements and needs on the field as soon as we are able. > However, at this time, HHS is unable to respond to individual queries > regarding Hurricane Katrina Recovery Efforts through this website. > > Volunteers who do not fit into one of the above categories can find > information on volunteering at USAFreedomCorps.gov or by calling > 1-877-USA-CORPS (1-877-872-2677). > > *Please be advised that individuals must be healthy enough to function > under field conditions. > This may include all or some of the following: > -- 12 hour shifts > -- Austere conditions (possibly no showers, housing in tents) > -- No air conditioning > -- Long periods of standing > -- Sleep accommodations on bed roll > -- Military ready to eat meals > -- Portable toilets > > Assignments may last 14 days or longer. It is required that applicants > have Hepatitis A and B and Tetanus/Diptheria immunizations for this > assignment. > > If you have questions please call the Hurricane Katrina Volunteer Call > Center at 1-866-KATMEDI (1-866- 528-6334). > -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: Georgetown, Guyana [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran "Criticize by creating." ? Michelangelo _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. Dalida Maria Benfield Media Artist, Activist & Educator Video Machete Chicago/Oakland Ethnic Studies Department University of California-Berkeley 510-655-3235 510-206-7934 cell _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
