Interfaith Update Call: Housing on the Gulf Coast

Years after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike and Gustav, the destruction remains visible in the lack of affordable housing and dire state of the general housing stock across the Gulf Coast. The economic toll of the oil spill further complicates this challenge, though rebuilding continues in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast.

Join us on February 23 at 3pm EST to hear from advocates in the field and government experts as they review the latest stories and statistics, and lead a conversation about what you can do to help.

• Dial-in Number: 1-213-289-0500
• Participant Access Code: 820086

The call will feature:

• Denise Graves, Organizer, the Micah Project, an affiliate of PICO National Network
• Fred Tombar, Senior Advisor to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan
• Joseph Gonzalez, Board Member and Chair of Loan Committee, the Isaiah Fund (interfaith investment for long-term Gulf Coast rebuilding) and Manager, Community Health and Investment Programs, CHRISTUS Health

Please let us know if you’ll be joining the conversation by RSVPing today.

Housing Action Tomorrow!

by Denise Graves, MICAH Project Organizer

On Saturday, January 8, the MICAH Project – the New Orleans chapter of the national interfaith community organizing effort PICO – joins with the New St. Mark Baptist Church in New Orleans for a Community Action on affordable housing, blight elimination and securing Community Benefits Agreements from area development projects.

The action focuses attention on families in central city and throughout New Orleans who are rendered house-poor because the majority of their money goes toward rent and mortgage costs. The grassroots leadership at New St. Mark have met with rental advocacy groups, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), planners, housing counselors, and the city, and a meeting with the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) is pending.  We have conducted congregational surveys and face to face conversations that we call one-to-ones.  Our learnings have produced three desired outcomes:

1. bring resolution to 15 blighted properties around the church
2. provide grassroots education, counseling and economic relief to families
3. encourage and hold developers accountable for including the project community in employment, vendor usage and surrounding community beautification. (more…)

Stories from the Gulf

People instinctively respond to images and to personal stories that they can relate to. One of the biggest challenges in mobilizing a response to the BP oil spill has been the lack of ubiquitous and accessible images of people impacted the spill. As a recent interfaith op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel explained, “we rarely see images of the damage that will last even longer than the effects of oil on wildlife: communities teeming with people whose primary ‘feathers’ have also been clipped — steady income, physical and mental health, and food security. A bird drenched in oil conveys a clear message, but it is more difficult to capture the human aspect of the Gulf Coast oil spill.”

But the images and the stories are there, and our partners in the Gulf Coast are doing their best to capture them and use these images and video to send a clear message: the oil spill disaster is not over. That’s why we incorporated a Multimedia feature into After the Spill from the start, and why we consistently update the page with new material. The page features incredible video produced by the Bridge the Gulf project, the Gulf Restoration Network, and so many other Gulf Coast advocates and activists. (more…)

Five Ways to Get Involved in Gulf Coast Restoration

As the six-month anniversary of the BP oil spill disaster approaches, the need for resources to meet the human needs across the Gulf Coast is as great as ever, even as media and public attention wanes. Now is the time for our communities to engage in partnership with local faith and non-profit organizations in long-term, sustainable Gulf Coast restoration.

We’ve compiled a list of ways you and your community can get involved with Gulf Coast restoration and rebuilding. Check out the PDF below – print it out, email it around, and distribute it widely! (more…)

VIDEO: Faith Leaders Visit the Gulf

As the devastating impacts of the BP Oil Disaster continue to unfold, a group of national religious leaders from different faiths joined together in July to bear witness to the damage caused by the BP oil disaster in the Gulf Coast, and to testify about what they have seen. Convened by the Sierra Club, leaders of different faiths joined together to reflect, restore, and renew.

[Video after the jump] (more…)

Day of Prayer for the Gulf: Shabbat Noah

Shabbat Noah: October 8-9
This year on Shabbat Noah, when Jewish communities worldwide read the Torah portion about the Flood, the Ark, the Rainbow and the Covenant, synagogues will celebrate an environmental Shabbat in response to the Gulf oil spill crisis and our ongoing climate and energy challenges. The Religious Action Center and partners throughout the community have created resources to help congregations commemorate Shabbat Noah.