Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005. Since then, the region has struggled to recover from the intense damage dealt to homes and community. Entire blocks of New Orleans remain blighted and many of the city’s residents cannot return home.

Faith-based relief and development efforts in the region are ongoing. Increasingly, however, Anabaptist service workers and church members feel the need to encourage government officials to do their part. If New Orleans is “ground zero” in the war on poverty, one newspaper reporter recently observed, it can be difficult to find the “front lines.”

Although the challenges facing the Gulf Coast are many, MCC service workers believe recovery depends on housing. More than 200,000 properties were damaged or destroyed by the hurricanes and 7000 public housing units were damaged in New Orleans alone. Residents of affordable housing are important members of communities, churches and workplaces. But rents in the Gulf Coast region are now 40 to 200 percent higher than before the storms due to decreased housing options – especially public and government subsidized housing.

Policy Issues

• Public Housing: When Katrina struck, more than 5,000 families, nearly all African-American, were living in New Orleans public housing. Another 8,250 were on a waitlist. Since the storm, most of the complexes have been closed or demolished. Few units have been replaced.
• The Right to Return: Public housing residents remain scattered across the country. Many want to go home. Internationally, the right of repatriation returns refugees safely to their homes. Former New Orleans residents now talk about the “right to return” to New Orleans.
• Race and National Identity: Hurricane Katrina was a reminder that life is connected. Decisions about going to war, about reducing social support, and about disregarding warnings... all those decisions exacerbated the impact of Katrina. And systemic racism was put front and center as a major factor in how a hurricane affected residents of the Gulf States and individuals across the country. Today, nearly half the city’s African-American population is unable to return.

Faith Reflections

Paul declares that Jesus is the “head of the church” (Colossians 1:18) and the “head of every ruler” (2:10). Because he is Lord of all, our Christian witness is incomplete if we only speak to individuals and fail to address structures. The proclamation “Jesus is Lord” should have personal and political applications.

Our witness is most meaningful when it is rooted in the lived-out example of the church -- when our lights shine brightly in both what we say and what we do. In the Gulf Coast, churches and church organizations are doing much. Now it is also time to speak up.

Suggested Responses

1. Work to advance the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 in Washington D.C. by asking your senators to become familiar with the legislation, support it and co-sponsor it. Use the two-minute letter guide and GCHRA Fact Sheet as resources.
2. Commit to learning more about the challenges that face the Gulf Coast and spread the word locally through letters to the editor, newsletter articles, and church activities.
3. Sign up for action alerts from the MCC Washington Office and other groups that work on Gulf Coast issues.
4. Pray for residents of the Gulf Coast and especially for those still seeking the right to return home.