Event: Rebuilding New Orleans
On Wednesday, the Cardozo group hosted an event for the Student Hurricane Network. Students from Tulane and the University of Illinois-Urbana also attended. Attorneys Leann Opotowsky Moses and Natalie Jayroe spoke with us about their work since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They each spoke about their perspective of the city before and after the Hurricane, the relief efforts, the government’s response and how we, as a community and as a nation can get involved.
Julia introduces Ms. Moses and Ms. Jayroe to students at Creole Gardens Guesthouse
Ms. Moses is a partner in Carver, Darden, Koretzky, Tessier, Finn, Blossman & Areaux. She has been an attorney for seventeen years. She currently practices while chairing the board of Second Harvest Food bank of Greater New Orleans, since 2004.
Ms. Moses speaks to students about pre-levees New Orleans.
Ms. Jayroe is the President and CEO of Second Harvest. She came on board right before the storm. She was in the hospitality industry beforehand but decided to put her efforts into public service. She plead with her company to send her to New Orleans instead of San Diego so that she could help with the relief efforts.
Ms. Jayroe talks to students about post-levees New orleans and relief efforts.
It has been a year and a half since the levees broke and both ladies agreed that it was the local and national non-profits and volunteers that are mainly responsible for the recovery thus far. Organizations, such as Second Harvest, have stepped in place of the federal, state, and local government. Congressmen even refused to visit the city and the members that did only did so after being personally invited and/or flown down. Ms. Moses and Jayroe also said that the main problems in the city, which were exacerbated by the hurricanes, continue to be crime and education. In addition, the police force and the legal system are in shambles. There have been 9 murders so far this year, many children are unsupervised because their parents are deceased and there are about four public schools open. There is also a huge problem with a shortage of housing and price gouging because of the lack of regulation. Moreover, Ms. Jayroe says that less than half of the hospitals are in operation, there are about 15 psychiatric beds throughout the city, and the suicide rates are higher than before Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Meanwhile, Ms. Moses said that FEMA has set up a reimbursement program that pays 90% but requires that the local government have the other 10% before being eligible to receive the money. The problem with the reimbursement program is that the local government has many projects to do and absolutely no money to do it with therefore they can’t come up with the 10% necessary to begin them and it becomes a “chicken and egg” problem. This leads to troubles such as the city losing 60 million of gallons of water, a day, because of the cracked pipes that can’t be fixed.
With dissipating media coverage since the levees first broke the nation has somewhat forgotten about our problems in the United States and shifted attention elsewhere. There is a lot much more to be done here in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Ms. Moses and Jayroe said that everyone can help by volunteering, visiting the city, and going back to their home states and keeping the nation informed about the continuing problem.
Ms. Moses and Ms. Jayroe take questions from students.
Ms. Moses and Ms. Jayroe discuss the coming year for New Orleans with students. Contributed by Katrina
