Sabrina Robinson lived her whole life in New Orleans.
When Katrina and the floodwaters hit her house, she
and her three children swam to a dry bridge where they
lived for 2 days. "We watched people die," said Ms.
Robinson. Now her family and 52 other families from
New Orleans face eviction from the Houston apartment
complex where they lived for the last month. Tens of
thousands of other Katrina evacuees also face holiday evictions.
After a bus took the Robinson family to Houston, they
slept on the floor for a month. On October 2, the
family received federal housing vouchers from the
Disaster Relief Center in Houston. Quail Chase
apartments in Houston agreed to accept the vouchers.
Ms. Robinson and 52 other families from New Orleans
moved in to Quail Chase. After the families lived
there for several weeks, Quail Chase changed their
mind and refused to accept vouchers. Quail Chase has
now given eviction notices to all 53 families. Now
they face the streets again. "There is nothing else available," Ms. Robinson said. "All the decent housing is taken."
In the same spirit, FEMA announced November 15 it
would quit paying for housing for most of the nearly
60,000 homeless Katrina families who are residing in
government paid hotel and motel rooms.
In Texas, where 54,000 people are living in 18,000
rooms, Republican Governor Rick Perry said these
evictions will "fuel the cycle of evacuees moving from
one temporary housing situation to another - if they
can secure housing at all."
The story is being repeated across the nation. In New
York, 487 Katrina victims, including 115 kids, have
been told their hotel rooms will no longer be paid.
In the Carolinas, between 400 and 600 Katrina families
in hotels face eviction even as local homeless
shelters are already full.
Back home in New Orleans, legal aid lawyers estimate
there will be 10,000 evictions filed in November
against Katrina evacuees - more in one month than are
usually filed in an entire year.
At this holiday time, resolve to stand in solidarity
with the hundreds of thousands of people victimized by
Katrina and the floods that followed. Katrina
evacuees in your community need your support. Stop
the evictions in your community.
Nationally, 54 members of Congress, including all the
members of the Congressional Black Caucus, have
co-sponsored HR 4197, the Hurricane Katrina Recovery
Act. Ask your representative to co-sponsor this bill
and to take action to force FEMA to assist those still
left behind.
There are also many other great grassroots, regional
and national efforts underway to provide solidarity
with Katrina evacuees. Many are listed at
www.justiceforneworleans.org.
People displaced by Katrina do not want charity. What
is needed at this holiday time is solidarity. Resolve
to stand with the victims of Katrina as they search
for justice.
Bill Quigley is a professor at Loyola
University New Orleans School of Law and can be
reached at Quigley@loyno.edu.
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