Dear Missnexus.com Readers,

Finally, there’s a bill in Congress that would help some of the hardest hit Katrina survivors come back home. Unfortunately, it is about to die because some members of the Senate think it’s fine for certain New Orleanians–specifically those who are Black and poor–to be shut out of the city.

I just called on my senators to support the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 (S. 1668). It would re-open desperately needed housing and make sure there is no loss of affordable public housing in New Orleans. Please join me by contacting your senators and check out powerful videos about the housing situation in New Orleans created by Brave New Foundation and as part of the Voices from the Gulf Project. It takes just a moment:

http://www.colorofchange.org/s1668/?id=1815-298172

Saving Affordable Housing in New Orleans

New Orleans public housing residents have been fighting for over two years to return to apartments that were minimally damaged by the storm. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has shut them out, because it wants to demolish most of the available public housing units–and replace them with far fewer mixed-income housing. The vast majority of the most affordable public housing units, pushing thousands of mostly Black low-income residents out of the city.

S.1668 honors the right to return of all New Orleans public housing residents. It requires the re-opening of at least 3,000 public housing units and ensures that there is no net loss of units available and affordable to public housing residents. It also designates $1.7 billion for rental housing assistance and earmarks millions for community development programs, which will benefit an even larger segment of the lower income population. But the bill is in danger of dying — because some senators are opposed to preserving affordable public housing.