Urban Unrest

22 July 2006 | Opportunities | Ernesto Aguilar

Many parts of New Orleans remain devastated since Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of citizens are dead, displaced, homeless. Especially in low-income African-American neighborhoods, the city has done little to address residents’ needs, or to include them in decisions which will shape their futures. Community organizing has resulted in some important victories, but the challenges ahead are huge. A critical need is garnering more national visibility. Common Ground Collective is a key presence throughout New Orleans and especially the hard-hit Ninth Ward, providing organizing support, advocacy, and community services. Our few human resources are overloaded, and we desperately need help from skilled media activists and advocates.

Who we need: Volunteer media activists who can lead our press outreach, helping us develop our press strategy, pitch stories, place op.eds. and letters to the editor, collaborate with national media advocacy groups, etc. We need a Lower Ninth Ward Media Coordinator to bottom-line the work from New Orleans, and one or more people to assist in national coordinating, who do not need to be on-site.

Requirements: The Lower Ninth Ward Media Coordinator Ability will need press experience; self-initiative; the ability to work humbly in a collective; and a minimum of two months with us in New Orleans. The media support members would need press experience and the ability to commit at least 5 hours a week.

Food and Lodging for on-site volunteers: Common Ground can provide you with very basic accommodations in its volunteer house, or you can get your own housing. If the latter, you will likely need independent transportation, as the hardest hit communities are isolated and without public transporation. We provide three meals a day.

Contact: Michelle Shin, Lower Ninth Ward Coordinator, at 504-717-5633 or commonmichelle@yahoo.com <mailto:commonmichelle@yahoo.com>.

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