By Zack Carter and Paul Nelson, South Bay Communities Alliance. Originally posted in the Mobile-Press Register. One day last month, we arrived at the Fowl River docks and saw several oyster catchers in soaking-wet clothes.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with several neighboring friends and associates that are from New Orleans, but now living in Houston. Two I met, and they became a part of my life, while I was residing in Houston after Hurricane Katrina. I wanted to know, more than five years after leaving New Orleans, why were they still in Houston? Did they consider themselves displaced? What did they think about New Orleans and returning home?
“Homeless” equals “hungry,” so people think. So that is the way society addresses homelessness; the Homeless are fed in soup kitchens, but have no place to store their food. Homeless people are often also assumed to be unemployed and on the streets. But there are new, unexpected faces of homelessness on our blocks.
Last month, I sat down with my friend Clarence Adams Sr. to discuss the current state of homelessness in New Orleans, LA. Mr. Adams is currently the Administrator at Ozanam Inn, a homeless shelter for men, where he has worked for the past sixteen years. In this video, Mr Adams discusses the definition of "homeless," and the way Ozanam works to make homeless people Whole from a holistic perspective, including programs that go beyond just serving meals.
My name is Linda Jeffers. At the age of 59 years and 11 months, I became homeless for the second time in five years. My employment ended and I was not able to continue with my financial commitments. I was forced to move in with a friend.
“My name is Sharon Hanshaw… I’m a native of Biloxi, Mississippi. I was a cosmetologist for twenty-one years… and Hurricane Katrina hit. Hurricane Katrina just sped my life into this whirlwind of activism. I had no choice but to step up, and try to make sure that our voices were heard in the recovery process, now and in the future.”
In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, communities across the Gulf Coast began to meet, share experiences, and work together across previous geographic and racial divides. Now facing new and ongoing challenges like the BP oil disaster, hurricane "recovery" efforts, and coastal land loss, these communities continue to rely on and strengthen these relationships.
In November we reported on a new program to help low-income Mississippi residents rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The program was the result of a settlement reached between a number of local housing advocates and their public-interest lawyers, the U.S.
Last week, Hurricane Katrina survivors packed two Greater New Orleans churches and voiced some of the frustration, anger, and hurt that they’ve been nursing over the “Road Home” recovery program. The public meetings, in St. Bernard parish and New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, were held to inform residents about inequities and corruption in the housing program.
Crossposted from 
By Zack Carter and Paul Nelson, South Bay Communities Alliance. Originally posted in the 
I recently had the opportunity to speak with several neighboring friends and associates that are from New Orleans, but now living in Houston. Two I met, and they became a part of my life, while I was residing in Houston after Hurricane Katrina. I wanted to know, more than five years after leaving New Orleans, why were they still in Houston? Did they consider themselves displaced? What did they think about New Orleans and returning home?
“Homeless” equals “hungry,” so people think. So that is the way society addresses homelessness; the Homeless are fed in soup kitchens, but have no place to store their food. Homeless people are often also assumed to be unemployed and on the streets. But there are new, unexpected faces of homelessness on our blocks.
Last month, I sat down with my friend Clarence Adams Sr. to discuss the current state of homelessness in New Orleans, LA. Mr. Adams is currently the Administrator at Ozanam Inn, a homeless shelter for men, where he has worked for the past sixteen years. In this video, Mr Adams discusses the definition of "homeless," and the way Ozanam works to make homeless people Whole from a holistic perspective, including programs that go beyond just serving meals. 
My name is Linda Jeffers. At the age of 59 years and 11 months, I became homeless for the second time in five years. My employment ended and I was not able to continue with my financial commitments. I was forced to move in with a friend.
“My name is Sharon Hanshaw… I’m a native of Biloxi, Mississippi. I was a cosmetologist for twenty-one years… and Hurricane Katrina hit. Hurricane Katrina just sped my life into this whirlwind of activism. I had no choice but to step up, and try to make sure that our voices were heard in the recovery process, now and in the future.”
In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, communities across the Gulf Coast began to meet, share experiences, and work together across previous geographic and racial divides. Now facing new and ongoing challenges like the BP oil disaster, hurricane "recovery" efforts, and coastal land loss, these communities continue to rely on and strengthen these relationships.
In November 
Last week, Hurricane Katrina survivors packed two Greater New Orleans churches and voiced some of the frustration, anger, and hurt that they’ve been nursing over the “Road Home” recovery program. The public meetings, in St. Bernard parish and New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, were held to inform residents about inequities and corruption in the housing program.
