BAC Member, Hurricane Katrina Evacuee Speaks Out
 In early February, more than 300 evacuees from Hurricane Katrina came to Washington to speak with elected officials about the recovery efforts and the ongoing crisis impacting their lives. Hurricane Katrina – the most destructive hurricane in American history – hit over six months ago, but its impact will continue for years to come.
A welcome event for the evacuees, co-sponsored by the AFL-CIO and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), took place on February 8, 2006. Olton Holmes, an ACORN representative and member of Local 6 Louisiana/ Mississippi/Alabama, spoke candidly to attendees about the current state of New Orleans and the long road to recovery that lies ahead.
“I have seen the devastation firsthand. I have seen neighborhoods without power, without water, and without the people who used to make this a living breathing community,” Holmes explained. “It is time for something REAL to be done for the people who have lost everything.”
Holmes went on to explain that in the aftermath of Katrina, the government made promises to rebuild the city, recover homes, reclaim jobs and restore dignity to New Orleans. But for full recovery to occur, Holmes insists, the first steps must be to provide affordable housing for those who lost everything, provide interim trailers for the workers who are rebuilding, and provide a safe work environment and a living wage for those heroic workers who are helping in the effort.
“When I look at this city – and you have to see it for yourself – as an eyewitness, it makes your heart hurt,” Holmes said. “We are a long, long way from recovery.”
Holmes and his family were evacuated from their home in the Seventh Ward in New Orleans to Austin, Texas. His wife and two children – who are 2 years old and 9 months old – are still in Austin while Holmes continues his work with the recovery effort in New Orleans.
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