Emergency Communities facts for kids
Emergency Communities was a group of volunteers that formed after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. They helped people and emergency workers by providing meals and other important supplies. They first worked in Mississippi and then moved to Louisiana.
Emergency Communities set up help centers in places like St. Bernard Parish, Plaquemines Parish, and the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. They closed down in November 2007. Another non-profit group, lowernine.org, took over their work of rebuilding homes. lowernine.org is still helping to rebuild homes on Eldorado Street for people in the Lower Ninth Ward. By June 2009, lowernine.org had rebuilt 20 homes and completed many other projects in the area.
How It Started
Emergency Communities got its start with help from the International Humanities Center. This center helped them become an official non-profit organization. Many of the main volunteers for Emergency Communities first met at the New Waveland Cafe & Clinic in Waveland, Mississippi. This cafe offered meals, medical care, and free items to local people.
The Waveland cafe closed on December 1, 2005. It was located in a parking lot on U.S. Route 90. In November 2005, Emergency Communities officially became an organization. By December 12, they started serving meals in a parking lot in Arabi, Louisiana. Arabi is just outside New Orleans.
The Made With Love Café
The meal service in Arabi was called the Made With Love Café. It ran until June 2006. This cafe served up to 1,400 meals every day. These meals went to government workers, relief workers, and people returning to their homes. The cafe was in St. Bernard Parish. The site was easy to spot because of its large tents and a geodesic dome.
Helping the Community
Over two years, more than 4,000 different volunteers helped at Emergency Communities' sites. About 300 of these volunteers came from groups like AmeriCorps/NCCC.
The organization also raised over $10 million in donations. These donations came from groups like Oxfam, the Red Cross, and the United Way. Hundreds of individuals across the country also gave money. Big companies like Sanderson Farms Chicken, Organic Valley, and Domino Sugar also supported them.
Volunteers served more than 350,000 meals to over 50,000 different people. They also helped clean out and rebuild hundreds of homes. Emergency Communities offered many other services too. These included laundry, daycare, and giving out food, clothes, and household items. They also provided natural healthcare, like massage and therapy. Most importantly, they offered warm and welcoming places for people to recover after the storm.
Moving Forward
On June 1, 2006, Emergency Communities closed its outdoor operations in St. Bernard Parish. As part of this change, they helped start the Community Center of St Bernard in Arabi. This center now helps over 5,300 people each year. It provides basic needs like food, clothes, and legal help. It also offers medical care, computer classes, and financial programs.
On the same day, Emergency Communities started serving meals at a new place in Buras, Louisiana. On June 30, 2007, they closed the Y-Cafe in Buras. They then moved their efforts to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. A new group called People for Plaquemines continued the work of rebuilding lower Plaquemines Parish.
Emergency Communities no longer takes volunteers on the Gulf Coast. However, their sister organization, lowernine.org, is still working hard to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward.
See also
- Burners Without Borders
- Camp Hope
