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LOUISIANA RESIDENTS MAKE PROGRESS, FACE OBSTACLES IN RECOVERY
Recovery Corps’ report highlights remaining recovery barriers and solutions
Baton Rouge, La. (May 12, 2008) - The Louisiana Family Recovery Corps released a research report today on the progress of and obstacles still faced by some Louisiana residents affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The report also highlights what officials and service providers can do to alleviate lingering hardships.
“These people are older retirees, young parents, children, white, black, high income earners and low income earners,” said Raymond Jetson, chief executive officer of the Recovery Corps. “Just like our state’s levees, roads and homes, the lives of our people still need our attention and resource commitments. Some residents are on the road to recovery and some are facing roadblocks.”
To download the complete report, please click here.
According to the report Progress for Some, Hope and Hardships for Many, some impacted residents have made progress in rebuilding their lives and retaining stability, while others continue to face barriers to recovery. Regardless of income, impacted residents felt that paying bills and fixing their homes were among the most critical barriers, with Orleans parish indicating the greatest financial hardship than other parishes. Forty percent of impacted residents reported having difficulty affording utilities, household items and food.
The report concludes that post-storm experience generally differed geographically between Southwest and Southeast Louisiana, with Orleans parish showing greater impacts than neighboring parishes. A majority of all impacted residents felt they have not fully recovered as only 32 percent reported that they are mostly recovered. About half reported they are making progress or are in the process of recovery, but 16 percent reported they are far from recovery. Calcasieu and Jefferson parishes reported the highest levels of “mostly recovered” at mid-40 percent, while Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard indicated only around 25 percent.
On race, the report indicates that black households reported lower levels of recovery than white households, partly because white residents were likely to be older and retired and black residents were likely to be heading single-parent households with children. Further, 50 percent of black households are currently working for their pre-storm employer as opposed to 70 percent of white households that returned to their pre-storm employer. Many black households began their road to recovery by not returning to work, but looking for work.
In addition to financial distress, the impacted residents experienced emotional suffering regardless of their income, race and their parish. Many residents surveyed felt that services to manage stress and overcome storm-related depression would be helpful. Parents indicated that their children had behavior or emotional issues—some making progress while others not as easily manageable.
In the sample of more than 2,100 impacted residents surveyed in Calcasieu, Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes, about one-third are over 60, half are ages 40-60, 15 percent were ages 31-39 and less than 10 percent were ages 18-30. About 45 percent of the residents were black households and 51 percent were white households. The composition of these households included 60 percent adult households without children and 20 percent single adults with children and 17 percent married couples with children.
In remarks before the Press Club of Baton Rouge, Jetson said that by working together and designing interventions that meet the needs and composition of the residents of each parish, we have the opportunity to leave our people better off today than they were before the storms. By aligning recovery services with appropriate communications and access points, everyone is reading from the same playbook and has knowledge of what services and programs are available to assist people in restoring their lives and strengthening their families and households. To accomplish these goals, policymakers must make a greater priority of and invest more in human recovery.
According to Jetson, “We can no longer afford to highlight our outputs, but the time has come to validate our outcomes for the people of Louisiana.”
To download and read the complete report, please click here.
About the Recovery Corps
The Recovery Corps, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Baton Rouge, La., coordinates humanitarian services for the State of Louisiana in the aftermath of disaster, natural and manmade. Formed in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the Recovery Corps assists families and individuals with their comprehensive recovery needs through its human service and non-profit partners in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and across Louisiana. The Recovery Corps has assisted more than 30,000 households with recovery planning, housing, children's services and emotional well-being needs since January 2006. To learn more or donate, visit www.recoverycorps.org.
