Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

so I've been googling for a coupla hours and have registered with at least a dozen or so orginizations who claim to be volunteers for the relief effort.
I'm wondering if any of you fine StudioEighters have some inside tips about the city and perhaps an opinion or three in regards to a course of action one might take in order to serve best those who need help. I checked the greyhound site and getting there is cheap as a french canadian massage. I'm just looking for anyones opinion who may be "in the know" on such matters......

Watch out for the "traps" and you should be in the clear!!!! Really do your research but also go by your gut instinct as well!!!! I've got a cousin who lives on the coast down there and she's told me that she helped out soon after Hurricane Katrina had hit.
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Kidney Disorders Forum

I wrote this not long after Katrina. Thought it might be pertinent to the subject.

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When I began to hear about the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, I envisioned thousands of the displaced--as well as thousands of outside solidarity activists who had brought busloads of blankets, tents, firewood, water and food--working side-by-side in reconstruction crews, cooking crews, first aid teams, search and rescue, and on and on.

On this vision's heels was a cynical vision, of what turns out to be an unrealistic fantasy as well, when compared to the unfolding reality: corporate contractors gutting the public resources of the victims' communities, in a long, expensive, unfairly disproportionate "reconstruction effort."

While the second vision is surely the future for the victims, I never imagined tens of thousands of refugees in the US would be held without food, medical or sanitary resources for several days, by threat of force and shoot-to-kill orders. I never imagined thousands of refugees would be forced to remain in a disaster zone to protect property (buses), even at the cost of the destruction of that property (due to flooding).

I'm sure this failure to predict the extent of the crimes the state would commit against its citizens is the product of my generally optimistic attitude. But this outright criminality complicates the message I want to convey: the aftermath of Katrina is not a failure of the state, which seems to be proactively defending its interests (exposing itself even to reporters for Fox News). Indeed, this failure was our own.

What I mean is that those of us who envision a just and humane world, who believe in mutual aid and direct action, failed the communities hit by Katrina many months ago. While the efforts of some to take aid into their own hands, for instance Food Not Bombs who are sending busloads of food to the affected area, are noble acts of love and compassion (which is absolutely necessary in these times), we have another duty to our own communities as well.

We must organize grassroots evacuation, reconstruction and medic teams, prepared to respond to potential disasters in our communities. We must foster the values of mutual aid and independence from the state when these disasters strike.

We should have networks between communities in case of evacuation: housing, food, medical supplies and clean water should be a phone call away. We can work with existing neighborhood, community, religious organizations and schools where possible. Trainings should be held for basic first aid certification and street medic skills. Lists of available shelters and resources should be made available in ever community. If evacuation is necessary, familiar places should be used for meeting to arrange carpools, or if arrangements can be made, buses.

Each community will face its own particular challenges, organizationally as well as geographically and ecologically. While the southeast faces hurricanes, the northwest faces volcanic activities, forest areas face fires, and so on. We must help educate our communities about these dangers, and what to do in case of emergency.

Where my point becomes further complicated is in recognizing that the state will see these efforts as a threat, and will respond with repression, possibly far worse than what's taken place in New Orleans this week. We must be prepared to act in collective self-defense, fostering a sense of collective interest, and we must make it clear that the state is not inept: the victims of a disaster can be the state's enemies, and their lives are disposable. We must stand in their defense!

None of this work is going to be easy. We will need to work to gain trust, and maintain participation, to be effective. But the potential for success is, I think, real. And the benefits of this work can go far beyond simply preparing for disasters. By putting people's fate back in their own hands, collectively they can become empowered, enabling us to cooperate more effectively and empowering us to function without outside intervention.

And none of this is meant rhetorically: if we learn anything from Katrina, it should be that only the people have the interests of the people at heart. We must begin organizing now. Many regions face looming disasters, and with climate change these are sure to increase. These efforts shouldn't take away from other efforts for fundamental change, they should be part of the strategy, by empowering our own communities and preparing for both natural and organized destruction.