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SPOTLIGHT ON KATRINA:
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands of
families and individuals. The hardest hit were those with scant resources to
begin with—families living in or near poverty. Many Americans were stunned
by the stark and shameful images Hurricane Katrina revealed to the nation,
and by the undeniable fact that among those labeled “poor” were thousands of
working parents living from paycheck to paycheck, with no financial assets,
no insurance, and no bank accounts to help them rebuild.
The nation now faces a rebuilding effort that must include both the physical
reconstruction of the communities hit by the hurricane, and attention to the
economic and social conditions that this tragedy has exposed. We must ensure
that the rebuilding does not replicate the conditions of inequity and deep,
concentrated poverty.
In this special section of our Website, we will publish documents designed
to help government, business, nonprofits, advocates and others plan and
carry out recovery efforts that offer help to low-income families and
communities. Our guidelines, recommendations, and analyses will focus on
specific program areas of staff expertise. Will this action or decision simply help restore these families and their
communities to their former circumstances of poverty and economic
insecurity, or does it offer a real opportunity to strengthen their capacity
for improving the economic conditions of their lives?
2. Government, business and the voluntary sector must work together to
address the challenges ahead. Hurricane Katrina demonstrated to the nation
just how essential government is for the provision of emergency and relief
services and for the restoration and maintenance of the basic economic and
environmental conditions necessary for all families to be safe, secure, and
healthy. The Hurricane experience underscored the role of government as a
force for good, and the costs when government fails. The rebuilding process
must involve businesses, communities, voluntary organizations and others
working together, but there are parts of the effort that only government can
do. Overarching questions to ask at every step in the recovery process are: Will this action or decision assure that the approach to rebuilding low
income communities and families is coordinated, integrated and flexible so
as to be able to respond to the complex realities of low-income families’
lives?
Will the rebuilding efforts be funded and administered in a way that will
not divert monies from other essential services to low-income families?
What is the appropriate role that businesses can and should play in the
rebuilding process and in providing workers with family-sustaining jobs?
What are the functions that can best be performed by the private,
voluntary sector and what are the ones that can only, or best, be performed
by government?
3. The recovery and rebuilding effort must be one that supports and
strengthens families. Hurricane Katrina revealed in poignant, moving images
that for those who “lost everything”—and those who had little to start with—
their families are the most important thing they have. Immediate and
extended family and community relationships provide not only love, comfort,
and strength, but also critical social supports for survival and wellbeing.
In order to take care of their families, low-income workers need good jobs
and appropriate public supports to balance work and family. They also rely
on informal networks of family, church, and other community institutions.
Both components must be preserved and strengthened. The overarching
questions confronting each step of the recovery process are: Will this action or decision give families the information, resources and
skills they need to get jobs and access to needed services?
Will it strengthen and support the relationships of immediate and extended
family and community and build new relationships with informal sources of
help?
Importantly, will the families themselves be asked what kinds of help they
most need?
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www.clasp.org • Center for Law and Social Policy • (202) 906-8000 1015 15 th Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005 |
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