Where to Now?

I guess no matter how much we attempt to make the Katrina displacements old news, the more their impact on new communities will prevail. More than anything, their added impact on most communities reveal challenges that we have been struggling with and ignoring for years; education, health, employment, and racial harmony. And unless we all actively take a role in the process of integrating them, our communities will continue to experience the turmoil.

We just had our two-month anniversary Support Group meeting here in Salt Lake City Utah. The atmosphere of the meeting was completely different from the first ones we had. The attitudes were up-beat. The new residents were trying more and more to find their own way in adjusting to their "new home." Fewer of the basic needs questions were asked. Our message from the beginnig was one of "empowerement." That message still prevails at every meeting we host. The "we" are Reverend France Davis, Ernest Timmons (New Resident), and myself.

As we stated from the beginning, our objective is to ultimately go out of business or we will transform our purpose. The new residents who do not have any immediate needs seem to just enjoy the fellowship of others. Many of them have actually served to provide support for others in securing identification documents, employment, FEMA advice, new clothing, city locations, and transportation; those everyday things we take for granted.

It's a real experience to imagine yourself dropped into somewhere in the U.S. with no proof of identification, no money, no relatives or friends, no place to live, children to support, and no employment. How well would most of us do? No matter how privileged we might feel, at what point would the frustration to give up set in? What the new residents of Salt Lake have achieved is nothing short of miraculous. The courage they have shown is beginning to create a new reality for most of them. They may all be here for a very long time!

Before leaving this site, be sure to give a listen to the Animal Kingdom podcast and the free download of the audio book. They not only speak to the New Orleans tragedy but also of the solution.