Emergency Communities
Emergency Communities was a volunteer organization which formed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It provided meals and other relief to residents and emergency responders, first in Mississippi, then in Louisiana. Emergency Communities ran sites in St. Bernard Parish, Plaquemines Parish, and Orleans Parish's Lower Ninth Ward, and then closed its doors on Thanksgiving of 2007. Nonprofit organization lowernine.org took the reins with regard to Emergency Communities' rebuild work, and continues to work on Eldorado Street rebuilding homes for residents of this devastated community. As of June, 2009 lowernine.org has rebuilt twenty homes, in addition to working on hundreds of projects large and small across the community.
Emergency Communities began with assistance from the International Humanities Center, which provided 501[c](3) fiscal sponsorship.[1] Many key Emergency Communities volunteers met at the New Waveland Cafe & Clinic in Waveland, Mississippi. This cafe provided meals, medical services and free goods for local residents. On 1 December 2005, the café closed its location, which was located in the parking lot of Fred's Department Store on U.S. Route 90 in Waveland.[2] In November, Emergency Communities was incorporated. By 12 December the group had begun serving meals in a parking lot in Arabi, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans.[3] This operation, dubbed the Made With Love Café, continued through June 2006. It provided up to 1400 meals per day to government workers, relief workers and returning residents in and around St. Bernard Parish, the civil parish where the café was located.[4] The site, formerly an off-track betting parlor, became recognizable by its large tents and geodesic dome.[3][5]
As of 08 May 2006, Emergency Communities volunteers had included approximately 300 from AmeriCorps/NCCC or others supported by grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service.[6] On 1 June 2006, Emergency Communities shut down its outdoor operation in St. Bernard Parish, simultaneously opening a larger indoor operation a few miles away. On the same date, Emergency Communities served its first meal at a new location in Buras, Louisiana.[7] On June 30, 2007, Emergency Communities closed the Y-Cafe in Buras and redeployed its resources to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. A new organization, People for Plaquemines, carried on the mission of rebuilding lower Plaquemines Parish.
Emergency Communities no longer accepts volunteers on the Gulf Coast. However, their sister organization, lowernine.org, is continuing the work of rebuilding in the Lower Ninth Ward.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "IHCenter Member Groups". International Humanities Center. Archived from the original on 2006-02-09. Retrieved 2006-05-18.
- ^ Renee Rosensteel & Mary Levine (2006-03-09). "Storm Relief Surge: Free spirits and the faithful continue to outpace official Katrina relief". Pittsburgh City Paper. Archived from the original on 2006-10-14. Retrieved 2006-05-18.
- ^ a b "United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area Continues Relief Effort in St. Bernard Parish". United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area. Retrieved 2006-05-18. [dead link]
- ^ Jones, Steven T. (2006-02-22). "From here to Katrina". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved 2006-05-18.
- ^ Thomas, Ben (2006-05-04). "Vaudeville troupe visits Katrina survivors". Port Townsend Leader. Retrieved 2006-05-18.
- ^ "National Service Responds to the Hurricanes: By the Numbers". Corporation for National and Community Service. Retrieved 2006-05-18.
- ^ "Next Stop: Plaquemines Parish – Emergency Communities announces the opening of a new relief kitchen and community center in Buras, Louisiana". Emergency Communities. Retrieved 2006-05-18.
- ^ "Volunteer: Emergency Communities". Emergency Communities. Retrieved 2008-04-15.