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Hurricane Evacuees Council/Bay Area
Dear Katrina/Rita evacuee, Have you been denied resources, been ill treated and/or getting a runaround from FEMA, insurance companies, the Red Cross and others funded to assist survivors while trying to get the help promised to survivors after Katrina and Rita? The Hurricane Evacuees Council/Bay Area (HECBA), made up of Katrina/Rita survivors and facilitated by the Global Women’s Strike, would like to invite you and other evacuees you may be in touch with to a meeting and reception to discuss the outstanding problems that evacuees in this area are facing and what can be done to resolve them. HECBA has already had some impressive successes in getting concrete assistance for its members such as FEMA payments, help with rent, stopping hotel evictions, furniture, clothing, food and more and developed a useful set of demands based on evacuees needs (see attached). But even with what we have achieved there is much more that can be done given that the situation for most remains dire. We aim for the meeting and reception to discuss the following proposals evacuees have put forward:
Also, the meeting will be an opportunity to: share information and other proposals; get an update on legal and other challenges; find out more about HECBA including seeing video clips of events and protests; get an update on the situation in NO including on the upcoming mayoral elections. It is outrageous that six months after Katrina FEMA is evicting survivors from hotels and motels and denying people payments they are legally entitled to and need to live on. Meanwhile, insurance companies are refusing payments to homeowners and low and no income people are being denied the possibility of returning to live in New Orleans. Obstacles are being put in the way of evacuees being able to vote in the upcoming mayoral elections in breech of the Voting Rights Act. And as many New Orleanians had predicted, bodies are still being found in the lower ninth ward. Like many others, we are angered that the Bush government can find $100,000 per minute to spend on an illegal war in Iraq, yet money can’t be found to rebuild the homes and lives of Katrina survivors or to build a levee system strong enough to withstand the fiercest of hurricanes. We hope that April 2nd will also be an occasion to address these injustices. We look forward to seeing you and to hearing about your situation and struggles. Please let us know if you plan on attending and whether you will need childcare. You can reach us at 415.626.4114 or 510.434.0190. Gloria Brown, Katrina survivor and evacuee Nell Myhand, Women of Color in the Global Women’s Strike
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