New Orleanians - They Need You In October

This project has always had an emphasis on people from the start: how can we help others respond and work together - to address the community needs of evacuees wherever they are displaced? A good part of it is communication, so here we are. Thanks to MT for emailing me the audio report yesterday. Perhaps we should all talk more about the displaced as "New Orleanians" instead of just as "evacuees" (credit for image above: Steve Inskeep, NPR)

In the news, immediate action is still needed more than many people think. As the interim FEMA chief was questioned by Congress yesterday, the Boston Globe reports on where things are headed for New Orleanians who are displaced.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, noted that hundreds of thousands of hurricane victims remain in hotel rooms and emergency shelters -- despite more than $2 billion already spent by FEMA for 120,000 temporary trailers and mobile homes. Only 109 Louisiana families have been put in those homes, while tens of thousands of state residents remain in shelters, she said.

So far, FEMA has spent $1.3 billion to help Katrina victims find homes, and 600,000 have registered for the rental program. But victims still in shelters face an Oct. 15 deadline, set by President Bush, to find more stable housing -- including apartments, trailers and in some cases, hotels. Meanwhile, FEMA is weighing whether to extend a program that reimburses the American Red Cross for the cost of hotel rooms for victims. That program is set to expire Oct. 24.

Is you think the critical times are months away, think again. Small acts by you now will save lots of misery and lots of cost (which we will all have to bear) later. What tiny thing can you do today? If you can't do anything today, post an idea in the comments area below -- an idea that another person (not a group, not an organization, not the government) can do. Or click on the envelope icon below -- forward this message to someone you care about.