Forgotten Gulf Coast Poverty

Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity and the LA Disaster Recovery Foundation have released an interesting new report demonstrating that coverage of Gulf Coast poverty has declined dramatically since Hurricane Katrina struck almost four years ago.  Gulf Coast states LA, MS and AL had some of the highest rates of poverty in the nation prior to the flood; it's a big contributor to the awful aftermath of Katrina in cities like New Orleans and along the rural Gulf Coast.  Turns out, poverty is as big if not bigger crisis in the region since the disaster, as more families have plunged into poverty and those already struggling are further consigned to a life of hardship.

Coverage of Gulf Coast poverty was never a major media theme; it amounted to less than 10% of all post-Katrina coverage even in the first 3 months after the disaster.  (In fact, looking at 3 month coverage increments, it looks like John Edwards's Presidential announcement was the only thing to inspire more than 10% of press coverage of the issue at any time.) If you're remotely familiar with the issue of poverty in the US, you'll know that it's not a very popular topic - ever.  (One need only look at the membership rates of the Change.org blogs for confirmation of this sad reality.)  So this report, to me, is no newsflash, just like the reality of Gulf Coast poverty for anyone who's been paying attention.

That said, here's a couple key factoids that we should keep in mind of the absolute necessity to stay focused on investing in and rebuilding the U.S. Gulf Coast:

• "Only 2 in 5 damaged affordable rental units in Louisiana will be replaced or repaired with recovery
  assistance";
• The "homeless population of New Orleans has been doubled by the storm."
• A "public housing crisis [has contributed to] an estimated 37,000 Gulf Coast residents living in FEMA trailers as of August, 2008."

60% reduction in rental units, including the demolition of 4,500 public housing units in New Orleans alone.  At least 12,000 homeless just in New Orleans, a city of less than 300,000.  Here at Poverty in America we write about the Gulf Coast every Wednesday.  According to this report, we're doing the bare minimum.

(Photo of a John Edwards 2008 visit to New Orleans, by Rachel Feierman)