Gulf Coast Recovery News
"Malloy, a Democrat, didn't provide specific numbers or estimate the amount that might have gone to people who did not qualify for the low-income aid program. He said none of the allegations had been confirmed as of Sunday, but their early reviews found examples among state workers of conduct 'that, if fully substantiated, could result in dismissal or even prosecution.'"
"When Mr. Bush left office... it was clear that the federal government had done little to ensure that low- and moderate-income communities got the 50 percent share of federal disaster aid that they were entitled to under federal law. As a result, many poor families have suffered far more and far longer than they should have while redevelopment in some areas has lagged."
"While some New Orleans neighborhoods are mostly recovered, others - particularly low-income parts of the city - still appear battered by the devastation. Advocates say that is at least in part because homeowners there did not get enough money to rebuild after the storm."
"Black, white, Asian; young, middle-aged, elderly; affluent and impoverished, we all suffered during and after Hurricane Katrina. St. Bernard Parish was completely submerged, got no immediate help from the feds, and the overwhelming majority of its residents were white. "
"The New Orleans Fresh Food Retailer Initiative is designed to give more people, especially low-income New Orleanians, easy access to healthful foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, he said during a City Hall news conference."
"The woman she rented it to made it plain: She was desperate for something better for her children. She wanted to remove them from the violence and suffocating poverty that surrounded them. The Section 8 voucher provided that opportunity, and she has not allowed it to be wasted.
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"Egana had rented the place on Franklin through HANO's Section 8 program, which helps low-income tenants rent what the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development describes as 'decent, safe and sanitary' apartments on the private market."
"Slipping on gloves, social workers Mike Miller and Katy Quigley head in. 'Homeless outreach! Anybody home?' Miller shouts as he climbs over a balcony and up a flight of stairs."
"While still serving volunteer work crews, the ministry has begun to shift focus -- showing up with food, coffee, warm clothing and odds and ends to help the homeless around New Orleans."
"The income of 12 percent of families fell below the poverty level at some point during the preceding 12 months. That figure skyrocketed to 42 percent of households run by a single mother with children younger than 5, the data show."
"Statewide, the proportion of households struggling with housing costs has increased, although the problems are worse in areas impacted by the 2005 storms and levee breaks, the LHFA report found. In most cities, it's common for low-income renters to struggle with rent. "
"It will provide more than $92 million for Coast households still waiting for help and up to $40 million for low-income families in nine counties, including the Coast, with unmet Katrina housing needs."
"On Sunday, the town of Madisonville will host a unique cultural event that will benefit families that continue to struggle after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico."
"The claims facility should implement a minimum six-month claim benefit of $12,500 (about $2,083 per month), which still puts a family of four barely above the poverty guideline of about $1,850 per month."
"The displacement of many low-income families in the wake of Hurricane Katrina bolstered per capita income in New Orleans. 'So many poor people moved out of the area after the storm and didn't return, which artificially inflated the per capita income for your area...'"
"But by some indicators, the Louisiana way of life is not faring as well as it could. More residents live in poverty than in any state except Mississippi. Public health indicators are miserable, and Louisianans have the nation's second-lowest life expectancy."
"It's something many people don't think about, but according to a report by the advocacy group the National Alliance to End Homelessness, there were 744,000 homeless people in the United States in 2005. And according to the group, the number of homeless is growing."
"The saga began two years ago, when the homeless-services collaborative Unity of Greater New Orleans hatched a plan to transform the old Bethany Homes nursing home at 2535 Esplanade Ave. into an apartment complex"
"Ninety-four percent of Lake Forest's 463 students are African-American, and almost 85 percent are low-income, qualifying them for free or reduced-price lunches."
"Lifelong St. Bernard Parish resident Sharon Sylvia, 57, is among the many residents who have fallen on hard times. In addition to some recent medical problems, Sylvia has struggled to find a job and has since become homeless."
"Poverty rates in the city remain high, while the suburban poor now outnumber those in Orleans Parish. The city's lack of affordable housing means that 58 percent of renters pay more than a third of their income for their apartments."
"Earlier this month the nonprofit homeless advocacy group UNITY released a report claiming homelessness had doubled since Katrina, and that up to 6,000 people were living in abandoned buildings."
"Test scores as a whole have risen rapidly, but some schools are performing abysmally, with others comprising a vast middle group, improving but still struggling to teach basic reading and math to low-income students who came in three, four, even five grade levels behind."
"Amnesty International's analysis shows that in New Orleans alone, less than half of the nearly 82,000 units of rental housing destroyed by the hurricanes have been rebuilt. And an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 people in the city are currently homeless."
"Five years after the storm, the Mississippi Center for Justice estimates more than 5,000 households affected by the storm still are without permanent housing. Low-income and minority residents near the coastline are most acutely affected..."
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