| California students spend spring break in New Orleans |
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| by Danielle Kwateng and Kerry-Ann Hamilton - Howard University Capstone News Network | |
| Wednesday, 26 March 2008 | |
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For the third straight year, hundreds of Howard University students, including about 50 from California, skipped the beaches of Mexico and the Bahamas or even going home for relaxation during spring break and instead went to some of New Orleans' poorest neighborhoods. They were there for a week helping victims of Hurricane Katrina who are still struggling to pull their lives together more than two and a half years after tragedy struck.
The students spent the week helping to reconstruct homes, repair structures, tutor students and provide legal assistance. A group of journalism students, including Thomas Warren of Inglewood, Calif., fanned out across the city to report on stories about lingering problems. More than 500 students left Howard University's campus on March 14 for the 22-hour bus ride to New Orleans, where they were housed in make-shift facilities at churches, shelters, schools and universities, including Dillard University. "Being that Howard University has one of the most extensive HBCU histories, I feel like it's our duty to be on the forefront when disaster strikes," said Sonny Baxter, a junior international business major from Vallejo, Calif.Peter Carr, a fellow Californian and senior political science major, agreed. "I thought I had a humanitarian obligation to do some great things," Carr said. "On a spiritual tip, I felt like God wanted me to be here in this time, in this place." Carr and Baxter were based at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, where students worked on construction projects and surveyed residents in the surrounding Central City neighborhoods. To help underwrite the trip, Howard students raised $60,000 during a 12-hour radiothon on WHUR-FM, the university's radio station. The university added the additional funding needed to transport, feed and house the students. Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert said the university supports the annual trip because of the need to continue to focus the nation's attention on the plight of the thousands still suffering from the impact of Hurricane Katrina, which left tens of thousands homeless when it hit Aug. 29, 2005, and residents were forced out of the city.
Capstone News Network is a service of the Howard University John H. Johnson School of Journalism.
Demolition has begun at the C.J. Peete, B.W. Cooper and St. Bernard developments. Mayor Nagin has given the green light for the demolition to proceed at Lafitte. See http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/nagin_oks_demolition_of_lafitt.html. Last week there were civil disobedience arrests at St. Bernard and Lafitte, bringing to several dozen total arrests so far. United Nations experts on housing and minority rights have criticized the demolition of public housing in New Orleans, calling it a violation of international human rights. See http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010179079.
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson is under FBI investigation for giving contracts to friends in several places, including New Orleans, and has been asked to resign by U.S. Sens. Chris Dodd and Patty Murray because "We are in the midst of a national housing crisis" and HUD must be "administered without corruption." See http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jSIc6-ALiTf2hbcJu0uvOnDh4BsQD8VHU3I80. Red Cross extends sign-ups to May 31 for Access to Care program The American Red Cross has extended the deadline for hurricane survivors to get funds for counseling, substance treatment and related services. This Access to Care emotional support program, which has served 21,000 survivors, now accepts enrollments until May 31. The American Red Cross had previously planned to end registrations by March 31. It announced on March 17 that the successes of the program will enable it to continue accepting survivors. Access to Care pays qualified survivors up to $2,000 for outpatient counseling and emotional therapy. Survivors who enroll before the deadline can select their own certified professionals to provide the services through Nov. 14. Sign up at www.a2care.org/ or by phoning toll-free 1-866-794-HOPE. The Hurricane Information Relief Network is the Bay View newspaper's nonprofit 501(c)(3) project to provide information and news coverage by, for and about the Katrina survivors who remain stranded across the U.S. and those who want to return home to rebuild their lives and communities. Send news and financial contributions to HRIN, EIN 20-4324012, 4917 Third St., San Francisco CA 94124, (415) 671-0789 or toll free 1 (877) 226-8100, fax (415) 671-0316 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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