Hello and thank you for your interest and support of United Peace Relief. We have redefined our mission and goals to include a national focus and membership drive. Watch for changes and join us as we move forward! Become a member of United Peace Relief. United Peace Relief is now on Facebook. Become a Fan!
Find us on FacebookWe now have web pages specific to each project. Please check out the menu to the left. This Welcome page will be reserved for news and announcements. We hope this will make it easier for our readers to find areas of interest.
We need your donations to be able to continue our projects. Please consider becoming a member of United Peace Relief or support our work with a donation.
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January 31, 2010
Board members and friends of United Peace Relief are following the relief efforts in Haiti. Please check back here often for updates on ways you can assist. We are providing information on grassroots organizations that are already on the ground in Haiti or have the resources to be there soon. There are many organization doing good work in Haiti. The following are organizations our members have worked with in the past.
If you would like to donate to any of the organizations below through United Peace Relief, 100% of your donation will be forwarded to the organization of your choice. Just note which organization when making your donation. If no notation is on the donation, it will be divided evenly month the four.
Go to our Haiti page for additional information.
From the Doctors Without Borders website: Doctors Without Border's work is based on the humanitarian principles of medical ethics and impartiality. The organization is committed to bringing quality medical care to people caught in crisis regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation. MSF operates independently of any political, military, or religious agendas. Medical teams conduct evaluations on the ground to determine a population's medical needs before opening programs. The key to MSF’s ability to act independently in response to a crisis is its independent funding. Eighty-nine percent of MSF's overall funding (and 100 percent of MSF-USA's funding) comes from private sources, not governments. In 2006, MSF had more than three million individual donors and private funders worldwide. MSF is neutral. The organization does not take sides in armed conflicts, provides care on the basis of need alone, and pushes for increased independent access to victims of conflict as required under international humanitarian law.
You
can also learn more about ARRR on
Facebook.
From the American Rainbow Rapid Response website: ARRR is a network of people who recognize the obligation of service to our brothers and sisters that are faced with catastrophe in their communities. With years of experience providing food and clean drinking water for thousands of people at cooperative festivals, we are uniquely prepared to share our skills, time, and assets with those in serious need. While our main focus is on physical needs such as clean water and food, we also try to provide for the emotional and spiritual care of a community. We encourage our volunteers to lend an ear along with a hand, we encourage cooperation with the appropriate agencies for psychological assistance, and we reach out to local religious communities to foster cooperation in meeting the needs of survivors of natural disasters. We also offer many ways for survivors to get together and effectively take part in their own recovery. An example of the numerous ways we help a community beyond providing for their physical needs is the organization of important community social events that bring back a sense of normality to these communities.We invite local musicians and performers to put on a show, or show big screen movies, provide ballroom dancing lessons, and sometimes just have a good old fashioned party. These events not only allow community members to relieve stress, they also make for a middle ground for the many relief agencies to come together with the residents in an informal environment.
From the Architecture ForHumanity Website: For those not used to working in disasters the first week is chaotic, filled with stories of heroism and despair. The first responders are not the NGO's or medical personal but the families of those who are injured or lost their lives. It is an overwhelming situation to be in. It is also not the time for architects to show up thinking they can rebuild. People are trying to find their loved ones not think about what their lives will look like in 5, 10 or 15 years.
Trying to keep perspective is extremely hard. We've personally lost colleagues, friends and extremely valuable people in the last few days. On Thursday, one phone call ended with 'they are all gone.' For those of us who are part of the reconstruction effort, we need to think about immediate needs for shelter while planning for the next three to five years of rebuilding.
When we are rebuilding, do not let the media set the time line and expectations for reconstruction. I remember vividly well known news personalities standing on the rubble of homes in the lower ninth proclaiming that 'this time next year we will see families back home.' Some well meaning NGOs, who usually have little building experience, are even worse -- 'we'll have 25,000 Haitians back home if you donate today.' In reality, here is what it really looks like:
- Pre-Planning Assessments and Damage Analysis (underway, will run for a year)
- Establish Community Resource Center and Reconstruction Studio (Week 6 to Month 3)
- Sorting Out Land Tenure and Building Ownership (Month 6 to Year 5)
- Transitional Shelters, Health Clinics and Community Structures (Month 6 to Year 2)
- Schools, Hospitals and Civic Structures (Month 9 to Year 3)
- Permanent Housing (Year 1 to Year 5)
As for a long term plan, our team is growing day by day and thanks to hundreds of individual donations we now have the resources to start enacting a long term reconstruction initiative.
From the Pure Water For the World website: Lack of clean, safe drinking water is a global problem that we’re helping to solve. We help the rural poor in developing countries have clean, safe drinking water, giving them health and hope that leads to opportunity.
H2O = Health, Hope and Opportunity
The goal of Pure Water for the World, Inc. is to prevent children from dying and suffering from contaminated water that causes pain and misery associated with intestinal parasites and illness. We do this by providing sustainable clean, safe drinking water systems to families and communities in developing countries. Be a part of the U.N. Millennium Development Goal to provide a sustainable source of clean, safe drinking water to half of the 1.2 billion people without access to this essential human need. Get involved in providing clean, safe drinking water to others by helping us.
Burners Without Borders (BWB) is a grassroots, volunteer-driven, community leadership organization whose goal is to unlock the creativity of local communities to solve problems and bring about meaningful change. Founded by Burners (Burning Man participants) who instinctively gathered in the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone to help those who couldn't help themselves, BWB has grown into a dynamic international, volunteer organization made possible by the generous financial support of the community and an army of highly creative volunteers.
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October 19, 2009
THANK YOU, WENDY!!
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October 10, 2009
Agencies working to aid Samoans hit by quake, tsunami
- Story Highlights
- About 300 responders are on the ground in American Samoa
- The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy are transporting supplies to the territory
- More than 165 people died in the 8.0-magnitude quake and tsunami
- Samoan national government planning a ceremony and mass burial on Tuesday
About 300 responders are on the ground in American Samoa, including personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Health and Human Services, according to those agencies. The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy are continuing transport of supplies to the territory, including meals, water, blankets, tents and medical supplies.
"In addition to our efforts in support of the governor of American Samoa, we recognize the significant impact of current disasters in other Pacific regions, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in a press release Saturday from FEMA's Washington headquarters.
More than 165 people were killed in the powerful 8.0-magnitude quake and deadly tsunami that struck the Samoan Islands -- including the independent nation of Samoa and the U.S. territory of American Samoa -- on Tuesday. The death toll in American Samoa stood at 22.
"These events remind us how important preparedness and teamwork are to saving lives and ultimately rebuilding communities," Fugate said.
The Samoan national government was planning a ceremony and mass burial for the victims Tuesday, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Malielegaoi said.
The prime minister said he toured some hard-hit coastal areas of the island nation and said places once known for their resorts were destroyed.
"There is complete devastation of several villages," Malielegaoi said. "There are families without anything. Everything has been washed away."
Those who survived told harrowing tales of outracing the killer wave.
British tourists Becky Glew and Helen Wright said they had little warning that a tsunami was heading for the resort where they were staying.
"You could hear the wave coming and the noise was deafening. And you could hear buildings crashing," Glew told CNN affiliate ITN.
For areas without electricity on American Samoa, FEMA said it has provided several generators to help supply communities with power. A FEMA press release Saturday also said debris removal planning is under way and recovery specialists, including a housing planning team, are being identified and assembled.
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October 10, 2009
Obama to make first visit to New Orleans The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — President Barack Obama will visit New Orleans next week, the state's senators have confirmed.
It will be Obama's first visit to the area since he took office and it will fulfill a promise he made on Aug. 29, the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, to visit the area before year's end.
Sen. David Vitter's office Friday released a copy of a letter to the president thanking him for the planned Oct. 15 visit, but expressing concern that it will be too brief.
"It is my understanding from the White House that this is primarily to hold a town hall meeting in New Orleans. If the town hall is the only major event of the visit, I truly think it will be deeply disappointing to most citizens," Vitter, a Republican, said in the letter.
He goes on to urge Obama to make several visits to sites in the area, including helicopter tours of areas affected by coastal erosion.
Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's office stressed that details of the planned visit were still being worked out.
However, Landrieu also released a statement expressing concern that the visit will be too brief.
"I cannot overstate the importance of the president seeing Louisiana's challenges in four critical areas — flood protection and coastal restoration, housing, education and health care," she said.
"Through his visit, President Obama can offer hope and witness seeds of progress in a region that desperately needs a committed federal partner."
Gov. Bobby Jindal's office said Friday they did not yet have details on the visit but that the governor plans to take part in the president's visit.
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August 27, 2009
August 28, 2009
Op-Chart
The State of New Orleans: An Update
By AMY LIU AND NIGEL HOLMES
THIS year, the Gulf Coast’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina has become President Obama’s responsibility. How bad a situation has he inherited?
The good news is that, on the fourth anniversary of the storm, New Orleans is weathering the recession relatively well. Since June 2008, the metro area has shed only about one percent of its jobs, significantly less than the 4.1 percent of jobs that have been lost nationally. Over the past 12 months, unemployment in New Orleans has mostly hovered around 5 percent. It recently jumped to 7.3 percent, primarily because of an increase in the number of new job seekers (like recent college graduates), but that is still well below the national average of 9.5 percent. At a time when falling home values are keeping many Americans from moving, the city has attracted 10,000 new households, the biggest one-year expansion since 2007.
Continuing repairs to roads, bridges and public buildings in New Orleans are helping shield the area from a more serious slump. The region is also fortunate not to rely heavily on industries like manufacturing that are shedding jobs. And it has benefited from job growth in its sizable government sector, which handles many recovery-related contracts and activities.
Yet New Orleans is not impervious to the economic crisis. Its housing market has stalled, with 39 percent fewer people buying homes this year than did the year before, and 48 percent fewer new homes being built. Also, a drop in consumer spending has hurt city sales-tax revenues.
Meanwhile, New Orleans still has more than 62,000 blighted and vacant houses and apartment buildings. Rents have leveled off, but they remain 40 percent higher than they were before the storm. People worry about what kind of good, long-term jobs there will be to replace recovery-related jobs when those disappear.
In the past eight months, a number of Obama administration officials have visited New Orleans and Mississippi, and they have found ways to help — for example, by accelerating the pace of repairs and by finding homes for families still living in trailers. But next year’s five-year anniversary represents, for many, the midpoint in a 10-year recovery. President Obama’s biggest challenge is to work effectively with Louisiana officials and the next mayor of New Orleans to generate enough progress before next August to show that the city is truly reinventing itself, rather than simply returning to a suboptimal normal.
— AMY LIU, the deputy director of the metropolitan policy program at the Brookings Institution
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August 4, 2009
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
Monday 03 August 2009
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans,
And miss it each night and day?
I know I'm not wrong, the feeling's getting stronger,
The longer I stay away ...
- Louis Armstrong
stands where his mother's home once
stood in the lower ninth ward. Green's
mother died during the Hurricane.
(Photo: Ted Jackson / The Times - Picayune)
The city of New Orleans will be on the minds of many in the coming days and weeks. The four-year anniversary of the worst civil catastrophe in American history - one of the worst such catastrophes in all of human history - will soon be upon us. It was four years ago, the length of one presidential term, that a storm came, and the seas rose, and the levees fell and a city was, for all practical purposes, murdered right before our eyes.
Four years ago, it happened like this.
On August 23, 2005, Tropical Depression Twelve swallowed up the remains of Tropical Depression Ten over the Bahamas and Puerto Rico and began moving towards the United States. Two days later, the storm was designated a hurricane and named Katrina. It made landfall in Florida and swung to the south-southwest, gathering strength from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A day later, the storm's track was recalibrated by the National Hurricane Center, with the line pointing straight into the heart of the Mississippi Delta. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency, and the Louisiana National Guard was mobilized.
By dawn the next day, Katrina had become a Category 3 hurricane. Evacuations, at first voluntary and later mandatory, were ordered in the parishes that lay across the path of the storm. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin emphasized to residents of the Ninth Ward to get a head start on the evacuation. Ten truckloads of water and meals were delivered to the Superdome, enough to support 15,000 refugees for three days. That night, George W. Bush was briefed by National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield on the status of and potential danger posed by Katrina. Forty minutes after midnight, Katrina became a Category 4 hurricane.
By 7:00 AM (CDT), Katrina had become a Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts up to 215 mph. The storm was expected to make landfall overnight, and New Orleans lay directly in its path. Mayor Nagin ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city, and close to 30,000 people poured into the Superdome seeking shelter. George W. Bush participated in a video conference with Max Mayfield and FEMA Director Michael Brown, who warned Mr. Bush that the storm was more severe than Andrew, was headed directly for New Orleans and the city's levees were in grave danger of collapse. Brown emphatically described Katrina as "the big one." Mr. Bush said exactly 40 words - one sentence promising support - and stayed mute for the rest of the meeting.
That was Sunday, August 28, 2005, the last day the city of New Orleans would exist as we have known it. At 6:10 AM (CDT) the next day, Katrina made landfall in Louisiana.
By the end of that Monday, virtually the entire city of New Orleans was under more than ten feet of water. Rooftops began to disappear under the incoming tide. Levee after levee failed, an event later blamed on the Louisiana Army Corps of Engineers, despite the fact that George W. Bush that same year had stripped more than $70 million in funding for the maintenance of those levees - virtually the entire Louisiana COE budget - to pay for his ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Like a slow-motion nightmare, Americans watched the steady annihilation of New Orleans unfold on television while Bush discussed immigration with Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff, shared a birthday cake photo-op with Sen. John McCain, promoted his Medicare Drug Benefit plan in Arizona and California and went to bed without responding to Governor Blanco's urgent plea for assistance. "Mr. President, we need your help," read the message she had relayed to Bush that day. "We need everything you've got." There would be no reply that day.
It was not until the middle of the next day that Director Chertoff became aware that the New Orleans levees had failed and that the city was in mortal peril. Mr. Bush played guitar on television with country star Mark Willis next to split-screen images of bodies floating in the floodwaters and scenes of residents "looting" stores, much of which was perpetrated by stranded citizens seeking food and shelter. It had been three days since tens of thousands of people had sought shelter in the Superdome, food and water were running out, sanitary conditions were execrable, the heat became overwhelming and people started dying like insects stuffed in a killing bottle by a cruel, sadistic child. Residents trying to flee across the bridge were turned back at gunpoint. The city of New Orleans finally collapsed into chaos and drowned in salt water on national television.
A city still stands where New Orleans once was, and bears the same name, but it is not the same city, and never will be again. The death toll will never be known, because the river and the swamp and the sea took so many and kept them, because those who were lost were mostly the unnumbered poor who lacked the means to flee, because back in those days, we didn't do body counts. Thousands upon thousands of the city's residents are still gone four years later, either to the grave or to far-flung points on the compass, evacuees with no way to return home and, in many cases, no homes to return to. Most of the Ninth Ward still remains a sculpture of rubble and destruction to this day.
What does it mean to miss New Orleans? It means knowing that one of the most golden citadels of our shared history - a cradle of multiculturalism, the birthplace of jazz, seed corn of so much that is America - was allowed to die of neglect, disdain, racism, greed and simple stupidity right before our eyes. A city stands where New Orleans once was, but it is not New Orleans, not really. All that was the city, all that it gave this country, and so many of the people who lived there, are gone forever.
Do not forget, do not let your children forget, what it means to miss New Orleans.
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June 4, 2009
Check out the Detroit page for information on the 24-Hour Community Spacewalk Detroit event.
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March 25, 2009
A group of volunteers are in Louisiana doing reconstruction. Go to our Gulf Coast page for pictures and updates.
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March 22, 2009
We have a new Books To Kids brochure. Click on the links below to download, print and distribute. Help us get the word out on this great project.
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Book To Kids Front
Books To Kids Back
March 14, 2009
Trouble The Water is an excellent documentary on Hurricane Katrina from a different perspective than seen on mainstream news. Watch the trailer and be sure to catch the entire film on HBO April 23rd.
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Two good articles from The Nation on our Gulf Coast page.
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February 26, 2009
New Orleans FEMA office --
Watch CBS Videos Online
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January 9, 2009
Trouble the Water has been nominated for outstanding documentary for a n NAACP image Award.
DOCUMENTARY CATEGORY
Outstanding Documentary
• “The Black List” (HBO)
• “Black Magic” (ESPN)
• “CNN Presents: Black in America” (CNN)
• “Dare Not Walk Alone” (DNWA Productions)
• “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films)
nominees in the other categories can be seen at: http://www.naacpimageawards.net/40/releases/40th_nia_nominees_release.pdf
The 40th NAACP Image Awards will air live on Thursday, February 12 (8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT Tape-delayed) on FOX. Academy Award-winner Halle Berry and acclaimed screenwriter/actor Tyler Perry, both recipients of an NAACP Image Award, will host the 40TH NAACP IMAGE AWARDS, broadcast live from Los Angeles’ historic Shrine Auditorium. This star-studded event, which coincides with the NAACP’s 100th anniversary, will kick off the organization’s year-long centennial celebration. Previously announced honoree s include Former Vice President Al Gore and Dr. Wangari Maathai, who will both receive the Chairman’s Award.
Also, last month Trouble the Water was named best documentary of the year by the African American Film Critics Association.
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December 27, 2008
Special holiday wishes to all of our supporters, donors and volunteers! May the coming year be filled with happiness and peace. Thank you!
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November 03, 2008
Home 4 Less art installation Detroit looking for artists!
Looking for Homeless Artists
Artists of all ages for art project which will be installed in WSU student hallway gallery and possibly another area art gallery. Artists will have opportunity to sell their work, via the art show, eBay, and etsy. Artists will attend at least one art opening featuring their work. Artists will work on their art in a warm safe environment for 6 to 8 hours, one day a week for 6 weeks, Artist will be served one meal, receive clean clothes, art supplies and other possible perks as they come in through donations.
The theme of this art project is Shelter, Home, Community Spaces, Green Economy, and Self; expressed through drawings, paintings, sculpture, collage, poetry, mixed mediums.
This project is open to all age artists who are homeless, living in a shelter or squat, or living in a treatment program. Open to All skill levels beginner to master levels. All the artist needs is a commitment to the project and a desire to create. This art project is being sponsored in part by Spirit of Hope Food Pantry, United Peace Relief Detroit, and WUS student gallery.
To be involved in this project as an artist or sponsor please contact:
Thank you,
Kate
amourcuisine@yahoo.com
313.598.3720
Or sign-up at Spirit of Hope soup kitchen on Saturdays 12noon to 1:30pm
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October 24, 2008
Time:
October 29, 2008 at 8pm
Location: Howlin Wolf
Street: 907 S Peters St New Orleans
City/Town: New Orleans
Website or Map: http://www.lower9thwardvillage.org
Contact Info: 504-522-9653
Event Type: LOWER 9TH WARD VILLAGE PRESENT A BENEFIT CONCERT & DINNER OCT 29th
The Lower 9th Ward Village, a post Katrina nonprofit community
center is a work in progress. The “Village” vision is to become a
multipurpose, multi-use facility that caters to the community in
general, with emphasis on providing services, skills training, &
recreational activities to youth and to the elderly.
Notification courtesy of New Orleans Voices For Peace at: http://neworleansvfp.ning.com
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October 6, 2008
WE HAVE A WINNER!!
Congratulations to Cherie Cazenavette of Kenner, Louisiana! The winning ticket for the Seven Sisters Mardi Gras quilt was drawn at the Taste of Autumn fundraiser and Cherie is the winner. The quilt is being packed and mailed to her this week.
Thanks to all those who have supported United Peace Relief by purchasing raffle tickets and a big thank you to Laura Fogg who created this beautiful quilt and donated it to us for this raffle. We have been able to provide some exceptional service to the residents of the Gulf Coast.
The Taste of Autumn fundraiser at the Frey Vineyard was a great success. Thanks to everyone who donated and attended the event. We will post some pictures shortly.
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September 28, 2008
We will be drawing the winning raffle ticket for the Seven Sisters Mardi Gras quilt at this benefit. Stayed tuned!
What: A Taste of Autumn
When: Sunday, October 5, 2008, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Where: Frey Vineyards, 14000 Tomki Rd., Redwood Valley
Information: 707 463-2736
Taste the flavors of autumn on Sunday October 5 from 1-5 p.m. at Frey Vineyards in Redwood Valley. The third annual Taste of Autumn is a celebration of local organic foods with wine tasting, music, and a silent auction. A favorite treat is warm homemade bread baked throughout the afternoon in the Freys’ outdoor clay oven. Kids always enjoy making apple juice and lavender sachets.
This year, the silent auction will feature special getaway packages, including an overnight in the newly restored Tallman Hotel in quaint Upper Lake; a private scenic lake getaway in the heart of Mendocino County; and a vacation house in Baja. Local organic meats, regional wines, works by local artisans, and baskets of specially canned jams and syrups are some of the
other offerings. Live music by The Freys, the Chinchillas, and Redbud ranges from reggae, to old time American, to rock.
Advance tickets for A Taste of Autumn are $20 at Mendocino Book Company; $25 at the door. Kids 5 -12 are $5. All appetizers and desserts come with the price of admission.
To reach Frey Vineyards at 14,000 Tomki Rd. in Redwood Valley, take West Road from Highway 101 north to Tomki Rd and turn left. The entry is on the left 1.9 miles north of the intersection of Tomki Road and West Road.
A Taste of Autumn benefits Hearthstone Village, an orphanage program in Baja California Sur, United Peace Relief, which support disaster recovery, and the Butler Cherry Ranch Project community orchard program. For information, contact (707) 463-2736.
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September 20, 2008
Trailer and schedule: http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com/
An Intimate Tale of Survival From Days of Katrina
By Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 25, 2008; 10:08 PM
The day before Hurricane Katrina descended on New Orleans in 2005, a charismatic resident of that city's lower Ninth Ward, Kimberly Rivers Roberts, turned on her video camera and began to narrate.
"Everybody is scared," she says, panning her camera across the dilapidated neighborhood of wooden houses and shabby porches and old cars parked in the streets. "Even my dog is scared." The rains come, and the wind picks up. "Here we go," she says.
The resulting footage forms the core of the heartbreaking documentary "Trouble the Water," which chronicles the almost biblical ordeal of Roberts and her husband, Scott, over the next several months. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year, buoyed by the extraordinary spirit and personality of then-24-year-old Roberts, who tells her story to filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal with honesty, wit and a down-home, lovely New Orleans accent. It's a tale of the Crescent City about as far from the French Quarter as you can get, back in neighborhoods where drugs are peddled on street corners and drunks pass out on front steps.
This may seem familiar territory, as Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke," the four-hour television documentary in 2006, laid bare the stunning failures of the government to prevent, mitigate or respond to the despair of New Orleans residents in the wake of Katrina. Lessin and Deal, directing here for the first time, cut their production teeth on some of Michael Moore's scathing documentaries, like "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11." You might expect a similar tirade here, particularly given the provocative subject matter.
But they eschew the narrated outrage of those films, going more for the intimate story of the Roberts family. It's a proven technique: When a disaster is this large, the most powerful storytelling option often is to focus in, in, in, on a single person or family. They just let Roberts talk; the film is without voice-over narration. It's a smart idea. Roberts, during the middle of the deluge, blurts into her camcorder: "Katrina, she's a bad chick." That's tough to beat.
They also make terrific use of the footage that Roberts, an aspiring rapper and neighborhood gadfly, shot during the hurricane. She bought the camcorder for $20 on the street a few days before the storm. It was probably the best $20 she'll ever spend.
The couple lived just three blocks from one of the main levee breaks, and the surging waters built into a river that nearly topped the stop sign at the street corner. The Robertses and friends retreated to their attic but couldn't push out onto the roof. A neighbor rescued people by using a punching bag for a life raft. People died.
Roberts's family and neighbors -- flawed, impoverished, uneducated, often unemployed, some dealing drugs -- survived by showing the kind of grit and concern for one another that every level of their government, from the mayor's office to the White House, failed to demonstrate. The film also underscores the stark racial divide exposed by Katrina, with masses of (mostly) black residents in New Orleans's poorest quarter forced into exodus, while the (mostly) white government was unable or unwilling to respond.
"Trouble" is noticeably weaker in its second half than its mesmerizing first, as the story moves away from the intensity of the storm to follow the Robertses in their efforts to resettle. But it still rolls home on the tide of its profound emotional resonance, the devastating scale of the Katrina disaster and the original American voice of Kimberly Rivers Roberts.
Trouble the Water (93 minutes, at Landmark's E Street Cinema) is not rated. There are adult themes and some profanity.
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September 19, 2008
Sorry for the delay in any updates. One of our board member and person responsible for updating the website was deployed to Baton Rouge as a pilot program. This pilot is designed to get disaster case managers on the ground within 72 hours of a disaster being declared. The model of this pilot program is exciting, as anyone who worked Katrina knows, case managers for vulnerable populations (the disabled, the elderly and non-English speaking) being available early in the recovery process is so important. Met a great group of disaster case managers from all over the country many who had worked disasters on the Gulf Coast and Florida. Our participation in the Disaster Recovery Centers and a centralized call center was rewarding and provided a much needed service to those most vulnerable in a disaster.
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September 4, 2008
Reports from Baton Rouge: There is no power and they are being told 2-3 weeks before all power restored. Baton Rouge Airport was closed as of yesterday. There are many, many trees down and houses destroyed or damaged. I still do not have any reports from Houma, Plaquemines Parish and southwestern areas of the Gulf. Stay Tuned.
Hurricane Ike now a Cat 4 storm. TS Josephine right behind. Things are very busy on the storm front. Everyone please be informed, prepared and safe.
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September 2, 2008
Good news is that it looks like this was not the monster storm some predicted. New Orleans, so far, appears to have fared well. There are some reports coming in of flooding in the lower parishes of Louisiana and Hancock County in Mississippi. Reports are starting to come in from those that stayed. Mayor Nagin estimates people can start returning on Thursday. Hopefully, more news will filter in in the next couple of days.
Report from Slidell, LA and Voices for Peace report the bayou has flooded again -- not at the Katrina levels but inaccessible right now. The water appears to be receding but Kevin reports his office in Slidell did not lose power.
To keep up with Hancock and Harrison Counties in Mississippi http://www.reliefvolunteers.com/hancockdailyblog.html appears to have regular updates. I will update this site as I learn details.
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August 31, 2008
The board and members of United Peace Relief are in contact today. We are all watching Hurricane Gustav very closely and will continue to do so. Please check back here often for plans to deploy volunteers to the area after landfall. Communication will be minimal initially but this storm is a nasty one -- potentially much worse than Katrina. We will also keep in touch with other grassroots organizations in the area. We feel sure there will be a need for volunteers and donations. Check back often.
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August 30, 2008
By Tim Gaynor and Kathy Finn
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the city's more than 239,000 residents to evacuate on Sunday in the face of powerful Hurricane Gustav, which he called "the mother of all storms." The evacuation order issued on Saturday was the first in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina devastated the historic Southern city in August 2005.
"This is the mother of all storms," Nagin said of Gustav, a monstrous Category 4 storm that could approach the central Louisiana coast just west of New Orleans on Monday. "You need to be concerned and you need to get your butts moving and out of New Orleans right now," Nagin said at City Hall. "This is the storm of the century." The evacuation order, which will not be physically enforced by officials, will start with the city's low-lying West Bank starting at 8 a.m. CDT (1300 GMT) on Sunday, followed by the East Bank at noon CDT (1700 GMT), Nagin told reporters.
Residents have the choice to remain behind and weather the storm, but "that would be one of the biggest mistakes that you could make in your life," Nagin said. He said people might have to chop through the roofs of their houses to escape rising waters if they stay. "Make sure you have an ax," he said.
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August 27th 1.43pm 2008
MISSISSIPPI VOAD: Please share this information with anyone you feel should receive it:
Current indications show Gustav making landfall in our region around 2 pm on Monday, September 1. Winds should begin around 4 AM Monday. Gustav is predicted to make landfall as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane (Katrina was a category 3).
Bus evacuations are currently being planned thought the MS Dept. of Transportation and the MS Department of Education as well as mandatory evacuations for Saturday, August 30. National Guard will be assisting with the evacuation plans. If you have residents who need to be added to the bus evacuation list, please have them contact their local County Emergency Management Office. Numbers are: Harrison County : 228-896-8080; Hancock County : 228-466-8320; and Jackson County : 228-769-3111.
If you currently have volunteers on the ground along the coast, please urge these volunteers to pack up and evacuate Friday, August 29.
PLEASE MAKE ALL NECESSARY PREPARATIONS FOR THIS STORM. If VOAD can be of assistance to you, please call on me. I will continue to forward information as I receive it. Thanks.
Jay Huffstatler, Project Manager
Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund
MDA LTWH Coming Home Collaborative
Post Office Box 2984 | Gulfport , MS 39505
Office: 228.897.4841 | Fax: 228.897.4843
Cell: 228.265.2969 | Email: jhuffstatler@mgccf.org
www.mgccf.org
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August 27, 2008
Officials may evacuate New Orleans as Gustav nears
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press Writers 1 hour, 39 minutes ago
Forecasters warned that Gustav could grow into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in the next several days and hit somewhere along a swath of the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Texas — with New Orleans smack in the middle. Taking no chances, city officials began preliminary planning to evacuate and lock down the city in hopes of avoiding the catastrophe that followed the 2005 storm. Mayor Ray Nagin left the Democratic National Convention in Denver to return home for the preparations. If a Category 3 or stronger hurricane comes within 72 hours of the city, New Orleans plans to institute a mandatory evacuation order. Unlike Katrina, there will be no massive shelter at the Superdome, a plan designed to encourage residents to leave. Instead, the state has arranged for 700 buses to take people to safety.
At a suburban Lowe's store, employees said portable generators, gasoline cans, bottled water and batteries were selling briskly. Hotels across south Louisiana reported taking many reservations as coastal residents looked inland for possible refuge. Steve Weaver, 82, and his wife stayed for Katrina — and were plucked off the roof of their house by a Coast Guard helicopter. This time, Weaver has no inclination to ride out the storm. "Everybody learned a lesson about staying, so the highways will be twice as packed this time," Weaver said.
Katrina struck New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, and its storm surge blasted through the levees that protect the city. Eighty percent of the city was flooded. Though pockets of the New Orleans are well on the way to recovery, many neighborhoods have struggled to recover. Many residents still live in temporary trailers, and shuttered homes still bear the black 'X' that was painted to help rescue teams looking for the dead. Many people never returned, and the city's population is roughly half what it was before the storm. Since the storm, the Army Corps of Engineers has spent billions of dollars to improve the levee system, but because of two quiet hurricane seasons, the flood walls have never been tested. Floodgates have been installed on drainage canals to stop any storm surge from entering the city, and levees have been raised and in many places strengthened with concrete. But they are not built to withstand a storm stronger than Katrina.
Gustav formed Monday and roared ashore Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane near the southern Haitian city of Jacmel with top winds near 90 mph, toppling palm trees and flooding the city's Victorian buildings. The storm triggered flooding and landslides that killed at least 11 people in the Caribbean. It weakened into a tropical storm and appeared headed for Cuba, though it is likely to grow stronger in the coming days by drawing energy from warm open water. Scientists cautioned that the storm's track and intensity were difficult to predict several days in advance.
But in New Orleans, there was little else to do except prepare as if it were Katrina. The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was set to begin moving animals in shelters to Baton Rouge on Thursday, and more would go to Texas shelters on Friday and Saturday. "We definitely don't want to wait until Saturday or Sunday to decide what to do," said Ana Zorrilla, director of the pet-rescue group.
The oil market also reacted to the threat. Oil prices jumped above $119 a barrel as workers began to evacuate from the offshore rigs responsible for a quarter of U.S. crude production. Any damage to the oil infrastructure or Gulf Coast refineries could send U.S. pump prices spiking, possibly before the busy Labor Day weekend. "A bad storm churning in the Gulf could be a nightmare scenario," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "We might see oil prices spike $5 to $8 if it really rips into platforms."
Many residents hadn't yet made a decision about leaving. Lawson "Sonny" Brannan, a construction company owner, was busy renovating a client's home Wednesday, just blocks from where a levee was breached in the Lakeview neighborhood. A wall of water up to 15 feet deep wiped out the home. Brannan calmly went about his business, but nonetheless kept a watchful eye on the weather. "I'm not going to worry about it until I see it in the Gulf," he said. "Then I'll make my decisions."
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June 13, 2008
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) -- The worst flooding in 15 years has paralyzed large sections of eastern Iowa, with heavy rains and brutal storms leaving their marks from one end of the state to the other.
The flooding is snarling major roadways across the state. The Iowa Department of Transportation lists more than 35 state and federal highways that are closed or blocked, including a section of I-80 east of Iowa City. The state is focusing on providing food, water and shelter to the evacuees, Culver said. In addition to the flooding, Iowa has been wracked by series of deadly tornadoes since late May. At least 10 people have died, including four Boy Scouts after a twister hit their camp in western Iowa Wednesday. "It's certainly been a real blow," Culver said of the natural disasters. "Despite the setbacks and challenges at hand we will get stronger as a state."
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October 20, 2007
United Peace Relief has some exciting plans for the next couple of weeks. Wendy will be working in Pass Christian with Restoration Point beginning Monday, October 22nd. She will have a United Peace Relief crew with her to help with reconstruction in the Pass Christian, Mississippi area. They will continue their work there until Sunday, October 28th. We are looking for volunteers to help. If you cannot come to the area, United Peace Relief can use donations for materials. You can donate to this great project on our Donate page using Paypal or Just Give. Donations will be used for materials which will be purchased in the area in order to boost the local economy. Home Depot and Lowes cards are also a great way to contribute.
On Monday, October 29th, Wendy will move a crew to New Orleans to work with various groups and Plenty International. We have skilled and non-skilled jobs for everyone. We will be working on reconstruction and community projects. United Peace Relief will also have a booth in the non-profit section of the Voodoo Music Festival October 26-28. Our friends from the Bayou, Gordon and Kevin, will be taking a break from New Orleans Voices For Peace and mowing in the 9th Ward to help with our booth and the march. We will be displaying and selling raffle tickets for our quilt and doing outreach with the people of New Orleans and other non-profits working in the area. If you are coming for Voodoo Fest or the United For Peace and Justice march in New Orleans on the 27th, plan to stay for a while for reconstruction. New Orleans for Halloween!! We can use your help with this project as well. Can you help? Our needs include volunteers and donations for building materials. Go to our Donate page to see how you can help.
November a better month for you? United Peace Relief will have another reconstruction crew coming to New Orleans November 28 through December 3. We will again be working with Plenty International. Come join us! Send us an email for details or to find out how you can help. If you cannot make it to the area, you can help by going to the Donate page to help with purchasing building materials.
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October 19, 2007
Want to be a member of United Peace Relief? We are looking for people who would like to be a part of our growing organization. Becoming a member will allow us to continue to grow and provide disaster services. We are looking for individuals who would like to support United Peace Relief and/or have your name on our list of members for notification in case of deployment to a disaster area. This is our next step in growing and want you to be a part of this change. Go to the Become A Member page for more information and instructions. You can register on this site and pay with Paypal or check. We need you!
If you would like to be on the United Peace Relief Board, send us your qualifications, any nonprofit experience and what you could add to our organization. Let us know why you would like to be on the board.
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P. O. Box 591
Ukiah, CA 95482
info@unitedpeacerelief.org