New York Solidarity Coalition for Katrina/Rita Survivors
About Us
Our Demands | Our Priorities | Our Mission
The mission of the New York Solidarity Coalition for Katrina/Rita Survivors was formed to unite survivors as they fight for economic stability, healthcare, voting rights, adequate housing, and the basic rights guaranteed to them as U.S. citizens. Though our efforts address the immediate concerns and needs of survivors in New York, our long term goal is for all survivors to have the right to return to a their homes in the Gulf- the right to return to cities that support and reflect the populations have been displaced.
We believe that the voices of survivors must be at the forefront, and support survivors as they advocate on the own behalf. The NY Solidarity Coalition organizes survivors and supporters as they connect the aftermath of the Katrina and Rita disasters to the struggle for human rights- which includes educational, economic and critical justice.
• First, the government must provide for all families to reunite. The databases of FEMA and the Red Cross must be made public.
• Second, the more than $50 billion belongs to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We demand a Victims Compensation Fund as was done after 9/11 for the people in the world trade center in New York City.
• Third, The People's Committee demands representation on all boards that are making decisions on spending public dollars for relief and reconstruction. We also demand that those most affected by Hurricane Katrina be part of the planning process.
• Fourth, The People's Committee demands representation on all boards that are making decisions on spending public dollars for relief and reconstruction. We also demand that those most affected by Hurricane Katrina be part of the planning process.
• Lastly, we demand transparency in the entire reconstruction process. Citizens must know where all the monies are being spent and with whom they are being spent.
• To build and maintain a coordinated network of community members, organizers, emerging/ developing leaders, organizations and community based with the capacity and organizational infrastructure to help meet the needs of people most impacted by Hurricane Katrina and government neglect.
• To facilitate an organizing process that will demand local, grassroots leadership, emphasizing the involvement of marginalized communities (women, people of color, poor people, gay, lesbian, queer and transgender populations, immigrants, indigenous peoples, youth and people with disabilities) in the relief, return and reconstruction process of New Orleans and the Gulf South.
• Create a sustainable space for networking and strategizing between community organizing and volunteers.
• Participating in the return/ rebuild process to ensure comprehensive involvement of local, grassroots leadership on all integral levels.
• To ensure mechanisms for safe return so those who want to return to New Orleans and the region are able to regardless of economic, geographical, or citizenship status prior to displacement.
• Respect to our families and communities
• Sustainable improvements in job wages, housing, education, environment and health.
• Justice for those who have suffered at the hands of the neglectful US government.