HopeNetworks.org, Alcohol, Other Drugs, Call for Addiction Recovery

Broken System, Criminal Justice, Indigent Defense

2006-06-24T14:57:00.000-05:00

One can't help wonder if the most recent study of Louisiana corrections system shows sum 80% of those serving time are doing so for alcohol and other drug related crimes, why we do not see a real move forward to stop this cycle of injustice into the land of eternal struggle.

The people in our Justice system are more than aware of the unbelievable caseloads, and impossible task of handling cases. Judges, Indigent Defense attorney's, all see this nightmare on a regular basis. Police, and other law enforcement no doubt are frustrated, arrest, re-arrest same people for crimes that often escalate as their problems related to their addiction escalate.

It is as though nobody wins, not the individual, not the systems trying to respond, not the community, and clearly not the state and federal government who are trying to fund more of the same. We know that incarcerating people with alcohol and other drug problems is not a cure for their illness nor the problems this brings into our communities. It cost more to handle this public health issue with the incorrect response, in lives, dollars, and quality of life for all people.

The cycle of Addiction, is a plague that can be found in virtually every nook and crannie of struggle in Louisiana. New Orleans can find great releif from the violence and trauma if addiction recovery becomes a priority. If stopping these cycles, becomes a center point to all policy that responds to alcohol/other drug problems we have a real hope of preventing the "forever" span of every social ill you can imagine that seems to blanket Louisiana's history.

We can start with the current plight of thousands in need of intervention, treatment, and comprehensive recovery support currently trapped in the criminal justice system.

The criminal courts and indigent defense systems were broken before the storms, and now, well read this article in TP to see how the struggle continues to see that the rights of those charged with crimes are not pitched to the wind.

"If the public defender's office in New Orleans is not adequately funded, then the question will be not if, but when the criminal justice system will cease to function," Hunter wrote, in a brief but blistering ruling that he read from the bench at Criminal Court.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/neworleans/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1151131520226690.xml&coll=1

It is clear that all people in the system are working hard and trying to do the right thing, my question is can we step away for a moment, and find a way to create a better "system" one that aims to end the repeat episodes of drug related arrests, that actually has real and tangible help built in for those suffering from addicton related illness- we can do better, much much better, and based on the lives and dollars being pitched away, along with rights under threat in our current system, we must do better- to save New Orleans, and our state.

Drug Dealers, Violence, Untreated Addiction.....

2006-06-21T16:34:00.000-05:00

It is just really really frustrating to continue to view the total denial in our state, more especially in New Orleans. If our officials at the state and national level don't "get it" then how are those living in need of treatment and recovery (addicts) going to ever find anything but despair?

New Orleans, the Gulf Coast in general remains in a state of struggle, hope, despair, and trauma- folks coming home, trying to come home, those here trying to help others, it is a trying time for many. Trauma we are told leads to much greater alcohol/other drug abuse-addiction.
For some, those who sell these drugs, it is an oppurtunity to set up shop and make money- sadly tragic and violent crime is emerging, and there is little doubt as to where this problem is rooted.

The federal government tells us that characteristics of those most likely to develop addiction problems. As an HHS report states, "Those who live in poverty are also exposed to other adverse conditions, including availability of drugs, lack of legitimate opportunity, alienation and hopelessness."
Drug dealers have no customers when addicts find help. Today the focus has got to find a new direction -New Orleans can pave the way for all areas in our state. Most everyone has heard about the weekend's tragic loss of life, 5 young men, in New Orleans, out late and gunned down in what police are describing as a "drug related" violent act.

Everyone sees this as crime, open/closed right? Wrong.

Drug related crime will not subside with the National Guard, Army, Police, etc if addiction goes untreated in New Orleans. Drug Dealers need customers, untreated addiction is where real money is gained by dealers. Dealers can't deal when addicts recover.

We have done almost all you can imagine in this state related to drugs/crime etc--except the one proven way to reduce the demand for drugs and therefore the dealers--reaching out to the shamed, stigmatized, and demoralized addicts/alcoholics in this state and most especially in New Orleans.

Crime has been fought in New Orleans for years, while the root cause too often goes unnoticed, or with little comprehensive response--real and effective is very different that simply "taking anything out there" we need medical detox in New Orleans at present there are no medical detox beds to replace those once at Charity Hospital, we need real and effective treatment and recovery support services regardless of where they come from--we need them.

Why are drug dealers going home? Why return?

Trauma is good for business there is little doubt, one can't help wonder as the nations leader in state locking up their citizens if others also win when we continue to neglect the addicts who must find help to recover in this state.

Bars culture of Louisiana

2006-04-30T13:47:00.000-05:00

SHELTER FROM THE STORM
Neighborhood taverns have become anchors for New Orleanians still reeling from Katrina
Sunday, April 30, 2006
By Trymaine LeeStaff writer
Mike Dauphine sat in the back of a little bar in Gentilly, listening to the old-timers chatter and the jukebox sing away their flood-soaked sorrows.
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The men who had gathered there, in Bullet's Sports Bar on A.P. Tureaud Avenue, laughed and joked, argued over the upcoming election and mocked the "fools" aspiring to run the city.
Nothing new about that. Neighborhood bars in New Orleans have always been a second home, a place where sorrows are drowned and joys and grousing shared. But in a city that was itself drowned in floodwaters, and where home may be a travel trailer or a borrowed couch, bars have taken on a special importance. And if, like Bullet's, it's a bar that stayed open right through the catastrophic first weeks after Katrina, the bonds among regulars and their barkeep give these watering holes an even more vital place in community life.
For many, the bar and those who flock there are "all we have," said Dauphine, a barrel-chested man of 63.
"It's important to us, meeting here. It's not about the drinking. We're all just trying to get a handle on ourselves. All this devastation. None of us are the same." Like so many other barrooms in this fractured city -- the Duck Off, the Kajun Pub, Johnny White's and the Kingpin, to name a few -- Bullet's also serves as a psychiatrist's office, a home builders' workshop and a marriage-counseling office. In the dimly lit belly of its history-laden saloon, Bullet's has held wakes for neighbors and those who loved them.
Bleak landscape
"I can take you two blocks in any direction and show you the home of someone who died," said Rollin "Big Bullet" Garcia. Garcia has operated several local barrooms in New Orleans over the decades, and now his son, Rollin "Little Bullet" Garcia Jr., owns Bullet's.
"We've been through a lot," Garcia Sr. said. "I've seen men cry. I cried. During those days after the storm, when people were trapped on their roofs and when nobody came with food or water, people got to the point where they thought they were the forgotten children. They wondered why they were being punished.
"But here, they're family. We're family," he said.
Garcia Sr. remained at the bar through the storm, with a shotgun in one hand and a .44-caliber pistol in the other, patrolling his neighborhood, warding off potential looters, getting a quick fix on strangers.
He rounded up nearly a dozen of the bar's elderly neighbors, providing refuge for them in an apartment above the bar.
But more now than ever, neighborhood bars like Bullet's are places for people with injured souls to dull the realities of life in New Orleans and plot the city's comeback. "It helps us cope," said Oscar Fernandez, 56, sitting at a table crammed with Bullet's regulars. "With the way things are right now, this helps. Gives me peace of mind to deal with the rest of this situation."
Little Bullet put it this way: "Everybody is a shoulder to lean on, and once we get enough shoulders together, we form a wall. And no floodwater can breach that wall."
Bricklayers and carpenters with work-worn hands and dusty clothes sat around tables in Bullet's recently, swigging beers and sipping stiff highballs.
Elbow to elbow with Fernandez sat Mike Romaine, 56, a brick worker, who "like the rest of them, builds houses and does it all."
"I've had a hell of a day," he said, tipping back a bottle of Budweiser. "So much craziness out there. Insurance. Family. A lot to worry about."
"It ain't the same as it was before," Gary Ganier, 34, chimed in. "But we still have fun. Just trying to make a living. Trying to make the best out of it."
The slow return
About seven miles and what seemed to be a world away from Bullet's, Steve Watson, co-owner of Uptown's Kingpin bar, pulled a stool up to its gold-flecked crimson bar and spoke of the redoubled importance of such places in a town that has always been famously hospitable to drinkers.
"The neighborhood bar is like the new New Orleans church, like church after hours," Watson said. He caught himself. "OK, I really shouldn't say that. But every week it's like someone new is coming back in. It's a real neighborhood thing. Here, as opposed to a dive bar, its not really touristy and not run down."
Everybody knows your name, he said.
With one eye fixed on Ike, his 8-year-old, and the other on a Chicago Cubs game, Watson, 36, said his regulars are slowly but surely returning.
The Kingpin was out of commission for a while after Katrina, while Watson evacuated with his family to Austin. But reports from loyal patrons still holed up in the city established that the Lyons Street pub had survived the flooding.
By October 7, five weeks after the hurricane, Watson was back in business. In Watson's view, the entire roller coaster ride from wind to flood to looters to the military presence and now back to a semblance of normalcy has endeared his patrons to his establishment and vice versa.
"A little bar like this does wonders at bringing people together," he said.
Making the best of it
Bullet's was integral not just to sociability but to survival, its regulars say. A wad of snapshots record the days right after Katrina struck. As soon as the water receded, the Garcias fired up a grill and cooked food from a freezer inside the bar and fed those who remained in the Gentilly neighborhood. They emptied the bar's taps and passed out warm beer to anyone who wanted one.
The S.S. Katrina, the old fishing boat that was used to rescue neighbors from flooded homes, haunts most of the pictures, a grim backdrop offsetting the smiles of survivors.
"This here is therapeutic," Little Bullet said of his bar late last week, as he poured a beer for a customer. "The history's here. Ray Charles played here once. So did Roy Brown and other local artists. They (regulars) step through these doors and besides a little paint, nothing much has changed."
Some days are harder than others, he said. One customer broke down crying recently. He said he wanted to die, the memories of Katrina were too tough to deal with. The hole it carved into his life was too deep for him to climb out of.
"I just cooked up a bowl of gumbo and shot the (breeze) with him, and it's like nothing ever changed," the bar owner said. "If I can give them that, then he knows he ain't in this alone. That none of us are in this alone."
"We do this so everybody can have something," said Cecilia Garcia, Little Bullet's wife. "These men have lost their homes. Some of them lost their wives. Coming here gives them something to hold onto."
As Mike Dauphine walked into Bullet's, he was greeted with a round of handshakes and hugs. He was quickly handed a drink and a Styrofoam bowl overflowing with crawfish.
He cracked one in half and squeezed the spicy white meat from its scalded, brick-red tail. He looked relaxed, if only for a moment.
Dauphine said the waters that flooded his Gentilly Woods home stole the Purple Heart awarded to him in Vietnam. That was the least of it, because the floods also took the lives of two of his buddies: A 77-year-old everyone knew as Radio was found dead in the street after the water receded. Prosper Flynn, who was 80-something, was found dead inside his home.
"Most of us are living in a trailer now," Dauphine said. "We have no other place to go. But you better believe, when it's time to meet up and somebody asks where we're going, I say, 'Over by Bullet's.' "
. . . . . . .
Trymaine Lee can be reached at tlee@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3301.
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The show must go on?

2006-02-18T11:30:00.000-06:00

Contractors, out of state "planning" consultants, government employees, and some New Orleans area residents will celebrate the 2006 Mardi Gras season.

More than 1,100 New Orleans residents known to have died in Katrina's wrath won't be there and I doubt family/friends of the 400 or so people/bodies that are thought to be in attics and the ruble of the 9the ward, Lakeview, St. Bernard, and other devestated areas will feel like celebrating.

A city where more than half the population has been virtually wiped away into communities across the country won't find parade crowds of years gone by, a very scaled down carnival season is what has been planned.

We are now more than six months beyond our nation's greatest natural disaster we continue on in Louisiana, stumbling for plans and progress in restoring devestated areas of the state. Healthcare, housing, education, and general living conditions still undetermined.

Many national reports tell a story of how nothing stops Mardi Gras, not war, prohibition, plagues of days gone by. So why in the world would we believe that the nation's greatest natural disaster would change a cultural norm like Mardi Gras?

Understanding, that revenues for the city are connected primarily to partying helps. More than 1 Billion dollars is brought in from this party season in our state, one can certainly see the need for chasing those sorely missed revenues.

What if healthier revenue streams were in place?

Maybe the idea of economic development that creates high wage earning jobs, living wage jobs, in our state, without selling out the health and safety of our communities can emerge and move forward, maybe not.

The truth is, objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Louisiana has long been subject to powerful state lobbysits for the addictive industries.

I personally can speak to the challenges of living in a state with powerful players lobby for this industry. They are like bulldogs guarding their turf. Virtually zero consequences for the social harms that result when peopel become addicted and have lost all as a direct result. In short, the social costs are never connected to lax policy on people and their day to day lives.

No change, old school driven thoughts will support the mindsetting that "The show must go on".

With almost no detox beds, affordable housing, and months away from our next hurricane seasion this is in someways hard to believe. Surviving in a surreal state of curious dismay, perpetual wonder at so many actions and inactions surrounding day to day living we move forward. No doubt a new hurricane season churning towards us in just a few months gives us all reason for concern today. Of course not all people are talking about the nightmare that could "finish off" New Orleans. They are very busy building the economic heart and soul of the state from days gone by --tourism?

Um, not to be rude folks, but have you actually considered that the money and resources for this event should be used to claim the bodies still left in the wreckage and debris? Where are the priorities of people and respect for their loves ones?

Yet the media is boasting that the grand tourism industry proudly announced Harrah's will open along with the once soul ladden New Orleans Convention Center- all timed with the "Carnival" season shows new scaled down debut.

I am not impressed, not by a long shot.

Today the now famous Convention center where 20,000 people were left in the city with swltering heat and swelling flood waters will officially be re-opened for business, one would think it would be closed down.

The greatest free show on earth (which is now taking corporate sponsors!) Mardi Gras....is going on regardless!

Denial -Addiction Non-Issue in Louisiana.

2006-01-26T23:52:00.000-06:00

CreaToo many systems, look for ways to deal with the consequences, or after effect, of neglecting our glaring community problems with alcoholism/addiction. I have had the willingness and desire like many I know to see change come to life, to support health and safety for all people. It is true that justice can't be served with alcoholics are allowed to pay huge fees, fines, or simply spend time behind bars while their denial is left untouched- no need to address their illness right? We can just lock all of the alcoholics and addicts in Louisiana away, yet that is our approach at present, one good example is the total neglect of alcoholism in our current DWI sentencing which is in dire need of total reform.

Nope. We can't afford this injustice. It is not reasonable nor rational to neglect to prevent, fail to treat, and reject recovery for these folks. In short, the systems are geared up with money and resources for cleaning up the impact and destruction of untreated addiction.

The results are entire sytems built and sustained in dealing with the ever growing problems related to untreated alcoholics and addicts, while demonizing and stigmatizing those who have failed to thrive in a broken system of care.

Alcoholics and addicts are doing by definition what they do- drink, use other drugs - further negative consequences, do little more than fuel an alcoholics/addicts desire to remain trapped in their cycle of self destruction.

There can be little question that those who are problem drinkers, progressing toward full blown alcoholism/addiction stand in life threatning situations, after all most people killed in alcohol related crashes, are those who are impaired and driving.

Their illness obviously continues to place themselves and others at risk in the community.

Just by definition, alcoholics/addicts have lost the good reasoning ability needed to act "responsibly". In fact, they are as alcoholics going to make poor decions when it comes to alcohol use and their related behavior. This not a new finding. The World Health Organization and American Medical Association for more than 50 years have declared alcoholism to be an illness rather than a moral failing.

Many forms of turmoil are emerging post Katrina, the outright trauma by those surviving as well as those helping those in need in this diaster. We have seen addiction- treatment, recovery support, all but denied as a real issue in the aftermath. This has placed those seeking help and those living in the denial of this illness with little hope for help in ending their addiction. The services and support (like basic detox and addiction treatment needs in Louisiana communities) were beyond lacking prior to the storms of 2005, and interest in fixing a very broken system was greatly resisted by most of those officials running the system.
I can personally speak to the backlash and bite of those fiecely protecting this broken system.

Knowing that real desire to make a difference in all efforts always seems to come second to protecting the position or prestige of those running the show.

Well now, there is no hiding behind feel good stories, the truth about our "non-response" to a public health epidemic must be dealt with.

Either we build more prisons, or we change this broken system to effectively prevent and treat alcohol/other drug abuse and addiction. Denial paves the way for many to remain hooked on anything that numbs the pain of this fiasco, there is hope, and help and a better way, but this will not prevail while the strong arm of all efforts is focused on punishing addicts/alcoholics rather than treating their illness and supporting their recovery.

Recent reports by alcohol sellers show up to an 85% increase in alcohol sales for those returning in devestated areas. Sadly, the same reports indicate no expansion of medical detox services once held for all state residents at Charity Hospital in New Orleans which may or may not ever be re-opened.

Time to Re-Evaluate our approach, and reconsider the state, community response to alcohol and other drug problems, shaming, stigmatizing, and incarcerating may provide short term feelings of victory but as we can clearly see it is a long term nightmare for Louisiana and tax payers when are forced to clean up cycles of addiction that go on and on when ignored as has been done.

Our state has had a deplorable pre-Katrina response to treatment needs in Louisiana, this MUST CHANGE. We see that the veil is thin, and if you can write your law makers, local city council, let them know that you want a real response to this problem that puts Recovery first not last....

Think smart, reduce crime, social struggles, improve family and community when we prevent addiction and treat those impacted. Saves major spending, and promotes clear paths to healing.....

Let me guess they were drunk? or Loaded?

2005-12-03T00:25:00.000-06:00

FEMA Pulls Out of Lower NinthAgency Calls for Troops, Reporting Threats of Violence
By Spencer S. HsuWashington Post Staff WriterSaturday, December 3, 2005; A14
The Federal Emergency Management Agency pulled all its workers out of New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward yesterday after threats of violence and planned to request additional police or National Guard support, a FEMA spokeswoman said.
A spokeswoman for Mayor C. Ray Nagin said the police commander for the district knew of no incidents or threat complaints.
The Lower Ninth Ward was reopened Thursday; it was the last neighborhood in the city to remain closed as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Residents, who had been limited to bus tours, were allowed to reenter homes, inspect damage and retrieve items but not stay in the area, which still lacks electricity.
But U.S. Army Corps of Engineers workers near levees and FEMA workers -- who were on hand to help remove debris, set up disaster service centers and coordinate relief -- received numerous threats, said FEMA spokeswoman Nicol Andrews . About 20 FEMA workers were withdrawn from the area, Andrews said.
"It's unfortunate that threats of violence would be made against anyone, as we all work together to recover from this disaster," Andrews said. "The first priority is to protect and ensure the safety of FEMA workers. There are a lot of employees working hard . . . to help folks return to their homes and ensure they are receiving the assistance they are eligible for under the law."
Andrews said local FEMA workers planned to seek an increased presence by local or federal law enforcement or Guard troops before resuming their duties.
But Tami Frazier, a spokeswoman for Nagin, said the New Orleans Police Department commander in charge of the area reported no incidents, complaints or removal of anyone for making threats. "We have stated . . . that we would have guards out there and police officers escorting people during this time," Frazier said, "but there has not been an increase in police or guardsmen."
One relief worker in the region said an angry resident berated a Corps of Engineers employee before delivering a threat to the effect of "I'm going to go get my gun, and I'm going to kill you." Federal agents have arrested six people in the New Orleans area in recent weeks for making threats against FEMA workers, who have been advised against wearing clothing with the agency logo in public.
A New Orleans Police spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
© 2005 The Washington Post Company

Real Rebuilding and Real People

2005-11-21T15:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I spoke with our Senator's office in D.C., I was advised that as of now, there is no relief package for the health of those in the hurricane impacted approved for Louisiana. I had contacted the Senator's office to find out how the reported request for addiction treatment, prevention, recovery support was moving along. We have not seen services increase, but decrease and yet reports earlier indicated these resources were soon to arrive. Five hospitals in the greater New Orleans area are still closed (Charity Hospital, University Hospital, Memorial Medical Center, Lindy Boggs Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center) and of course the addiction treatment they provided is also gone.

I was disappointed to find out that Addiction treatment service funds were not moving along, and apparently all monies for public health were stalled.

Partisan Politics?
It Seems politics, old and a new, are preventing an organized and necessary federal relief package for housing, healthcare, and safety/protection etc from reaching our state and her citizens in despair.

So Here we are, 3 months after the gulf's nightmare-- at leastsome of us. Some of us are gone, some have no idea(6,644 Still Reported Missing) if they are coming or going...... It is overwhelming to know how vulnerable so many were to this tragic nightmare and how little was done to deliver real hope to folks despite promises.

It seems we are facing issues that were years in the making-the hardships of people today are not on either side of political battles--in short this disaster demands a "People" focused response.

Obviously areas in and around New Orleans sustained the greatest loss as the hurricane and floods had greater impact in a city well below sea level. Congress needs to hear from all of us. Please wrtie all members of congress, tell them this is a people issue not a political issue, and we need their help. Funding programs won't be necessary if people can't move home due to a lack of committement on building levees back to withstand a category 5 storm.

Rebuild efforts should prevent future harms if residents are to find any peace in returning home. The need for levee protection can't be overlooked or swept under the rug, few people want to risk this nightmare taking place again and therefore protections of a category 5 hurricane are in order. I believe the congress can see that this happens, or they can see that it does not happen.

Many speculate that this is not a priority because it is a chance to swing voting blocks and political power. African American voters in New Orleans have long been a voting block of importance in our elections, failure to secure the levees is one way to use fear in keeping folks from returning to their city and community- it is obvious that those with the least in impacted areas face the greatest challenges in restoring their lives. I believe that the most underserved areas do have great hope with groups like Acorn, Habitat for Humanity, Common Ground Collective are looking at the core issues facing folks as far as housing, social justice, and community unity in the rebuild process.

All of the events in months gone by have many of us feeling confused somwhat off center with all the hurt and loss that continues to emerge.

Reflecting on days gone by, people, organizations wondering who is still around and who has gone never to return. What does this mean long term? Will their e-mail address work? How bout the cell phone?

What if you survived the whole ordeal, swam to safety, and now are relocated in a hotel in Texas somewhere? Will your home /apartment wait for you to find a way home? Do you want to take your kids out of school and bring them back to a city just to face all the challenges waiting for you? Can you find a place to live? A job? Have you lived under the threat of eviction and all your belongings heading for the local dump? Can you find one of these town hall meetings for those who are displaced? Will your voice be heard? Are you just too tired to fight for survival anymore? Who is in charge of all of this? Does anyone really know? Do they know you didn't want to be relocated that you miss your family, your city, your job?

Those are a few of the thoughts I have each day--feeling the blanket of worry which somehow seems to smother the hopfullness I usually am driven by each day. It is a process of surrender, realizing we can do only what we can do, and that most all I know are indeed actually "doing something" to improve the conditions for folks impacted.

The television, the newspapers, bloggers, and onling publications all seem to be in the know.
People are commenting from all over the U.S., their commentary is often combative, not healing, not supportive, and often very very partisan. Politics seem to rule, not people. Some journalist get it and are pushing for the "abc's" of getting this rebuild underway and how greatful we are for those folks.

Looking at the social ills plaguing this state, it is easy to understand what happened to thousands in New Orleans. Years of gross neglect toward social ills often rooted in untreated cycles of alcoholism and addiction make situations like this nightmare possible. The working class, working poor, people of color and those living in poverty, or generally unable walk out of this crisis with a team of attorney's, paid insurance claims, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal savings. Anyone who was at risk for this impact is today actually "living it".

It seems much is just an oversight in the bright lights and glitz of our "Party" state.

Or is it? Were these social struggles long known? Where they ignored by many? Has this state been a breeding ground for poverty, incarceration, and illiteracy? Were these plagues all well rooted in a state that has largely ignored the "elephant" in the livingroom so to speak? Alcohol and other drug abuse has long been connected to Louisiana's demise, to our struggles, to the preventable harms that surfaced during all the chaos of these storms. HopeNetworks has lead efforts to raise awareness, to begin discussions, and to move grassroots action forward for real hope in this state. What we have found is a system that did not welcome change, that accepted a portion of our population as "throw aways" and always had promises that help was on the way for alcoholics/addicts in need of treatment that was effective. Just look at our archives from legislative work in years past.

Knowing what was known, that these storms and their flooding were "bound to happen" I wonder what else is known and ignored? I wonder how the French Quarter is open, but not one detox bed? I wonder why people ignored the urgent pleas years before Katrina and in the days after.

"There's no problem here" is what seems to lead this course of "non action" in my opinion on most days, it is surreal to see the preventable harms grow and move a city, a state, and a nation to a place tremendous despair for often uninformed people.

Hurricane Season of 2005 has broughtmany of the rebuilding challenges to light, as they emerge we can also see need for real support fading.

There is talk of all sorts of problems facing those evacuated that prevent them from returning. Either no home to return to, or a very damaged home needing costly repairs.

It is no secret that Louisiana has long faced staggering rates of poverty, and that no doubt has a tremendous impact on those who have lost everything in a city where too often it is the norm, we have got to see real hope emerge in the days ahead.

Trauma? Realizing the loss of treatment services-

We know there is good research indicating that trauma and alcohol and other drug abuse run hand in hand. I don't know that much more research is needed! Take a look at the need for addiction treatment prior to the hurricanes, and realize about 1/2 of services are gone.

Mental Health, Emotional Health, and Addictions can prevent folks from focusing or engaging in this effort, from self advocating for their homes, jobs, and community, in fact we have seen this in a like way over the years in low income and underserved communities, distracted by an untreated illness and plagued with ongoing revolving door experiences related to addiction and our criminal justice system.

To sum up everything today, it appears that many of the same practices that have sedated communities into a point of failing to demand protections from this predictable storm impact are continuing today.....and that is what must change. All life has value and purpose, and we should support real people in restoring the damage sustained while rebuilding with promise of new healthy community cycles in our future.

Robert Davis, beaten, jailed- sober 25yrs

2005-10-11T11:16:00.000-05:00

More shall be revealed............ Outrage over this treatment.

Civil Rights Violations, Human Rights Violations?

Irony- Mr. Robert Davis, is a recovering alcoholic beaten and jailed. Intial reports were he was an intoxicated man (very common in and around Bourbon Street) was resisting arrest, and therefore somehow deserved this bloody beating? Much is being revealed in Louisiana. New Orleans has had a long history of alcohol problems in the community, and discriminatory treatment of those persons. Detox deaths in local jails, taser sudden deaths, and now Mr. Davis is seen living out the alcoholics nightmare too often not discussed, this time on camera. What these officers didn't know, was that Mr. Davis may indeed be a "drunk" but as we know today he is a sober alcoholic in recovery for 25 plus years. Several people have contacted me, in and supporting recovery in our state, they want to rally behind Mr. Davis and support him and the thousands at risk for this treatment, having sustained like treatment, and as the data tells us too often in our jails across the state. Alcohol abuse, is often a direct sign of alcoholism/addiction, an illness more than 22 million Americans face today. Mr. Davis has opened the door for the world to see how the stigma and beliefs about addiction too often "justify" the abusive response and or denial of necessary and appropriate treatment supporting recovery.

New Orleans officers plead not guilty
Justice Department opens civil rights probe after taped beating
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- Three New Orleans police officers Monday pleaded not guilty to charges of battery in the videotaped beating of a 64-year-old man, as federal officials opened a civil rights investigation into the incident.
Portions of the arrest were captured on videotape by two news organizations. CNN footage showed the man, Robert Davis, lying on a sidewalk with his head and shirt soaked in blood.
Davis, a retired teacher, was treated and released after the incident. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday on an array of charges, including public intoxication, battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. (Watch raw footage of the beating -- 1:26)
His defense attorney, Joseph Bruno, told CNN his client had not "touched a drop" of alcohol Saturday night before the beating.
The three officers charged in the incident -- Lance Schilling, Robert Evangelist and S.M. Smith -- were released on bond after appearing before a judge to make their pleas.
All three have been suspended from duty without pay, and a trial was set for January.
Police Chief Warren Riley vowed to take "decisive action once we gather all the facts."
Davis is black; the three officers involved are white.
The Justice Department said Monday that a civil rights investigation had been opened in the case.
FBI agents will work alongside the New Orleans Police Department's Office of Internal Affairs, said FBI spokesman Stephen Kodak.
Riley, who is black, played down the role of race in the incident.
"There is no evidence to prove this was race-related," said Riley, adding that he does not think there is a problem with race within the department.
The Police Association of New Orleans said the three officers were "upset they were suspended."
"They thought their actions were justified given the circumstances that were at hand," said union spokesman Lt. David Benelli. "They thought there should have been a full investigation before they were basically issued a summons and arraigned."
Caught on tape
In an interview with CNN, Bruno said Davis had returned to New Orleans to check on two pieces of property he owned in the city's flooded 9th Ward.
Davis was in the French Quarter Saturday and had stopped to ask a police officer on horseback about the city's curfew.
According to Bruno, a second officer approached and "apparently said some ugly things to my client. And my client said, 'I think that's unprofessional.'"
Davis then finished his conversation and began walking across the street, Bruno said.
"As he was walking across the street, he was struck from behind, and that's when the altercation began."
An Associated Press photographer captured video of the incident, which took place at 9 p.m. outside a bar in the French Quarter.
The video showed two police officers apparently trying to arrest Davis. Another officer on horseback maneuvered his horse, partially blocking the photographer's view.
But the photographer managed to get more footage, in which the officers appear to punch Davis -- including several blows to the head. His head also appeared to hit a wall.
Later in the video, four men -- two clearly uniformed police -- pushed Davis to the ground, placed him in a headlock and apparently tried to handcuff him. One can be seen hitting Davis two more times.
He said Davis is a reformed addict who has been clean for years.
"[Police] had the opportunity to take blood or do a Breathalyzer if it were a serious allegation," Bruno said. "They chose not to do this."
Bruno said they would likely file a civil suit, but under the "best" scenario his client could "break even" due to the limited nature of punitive damages under Louisiana law.
Producer manhandled
The video also showed the officer who identified himself as S.M. Smith pushing an AP television news producer on the scene and leaning him backward against a car, pointing a finger in his face.
In a profanity-laden tirade, the officer said, "I've been here for six weeks trying to keep myself alive. ... Go home."
A CNN photographer also recorded video from part the incident. Davis could be seen covered in blood, with his arms bound behind his back.
When he tried to turn from his stomach onto his back, officers several times used their feet to prevent him from turning over. He ultimately propped himself against a fire hydrant and appeared to have suffered head wounds. ( Watch video of what Davis looked like after the beating -- 2:27)
Riley emphasized that the incident needs to be investigated before final conclusions are made.
In an interview Monday with CNN, Riley said the three officers used "force that was beyond what was necessary in this incident, based on the video."
But he added, "If the evidence shows that they were following policy and procedure, we will not be taking such punitive-type action."
The incident also put an already stretched police force under further scrutiny.
Since Hurricane Katrina hit August 29, hundreds of officers have walked off the force, others have been accused of looting and some of those who remain lost nearly everything in the storm but continue to work long hours. (Full story)
The chief added that most of the police force has conducted itself heroically since Katrina and that they will continue to do so -- an assessment that Bruno and his client agreed with.
"[Davis] does not indict the New Orleans police department. He, like the rest of us, are incredibly grateful for the heroic action that most of the officers" have done since Katrina, Bruno said.
At the same time, he said his client doesn't want to return to the city. "It scarred him."
CNN's Alina Cho, Terry Frieden, Rod Griola and Chris Strathmann contributed to this report

Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/10/10/taped.beatings

NY Times Inhumane treatment of those jailed....

2005-10-02T02:53:00.000-05:00

The New York Times recognizes the inhumane conditions and treatment of those incarcerated, I hope soon they will see the injustice of responding to a public health problem with punative solutions which has earned our state the nation's leader in citizens behind bars. A 2001 study by the State Office of Addictive Disorders reported 77% of those incarcerated reported alcohol/other drug abuse/addiction. Only 8% of the adult population can access addiction treatment. This explains a great deal of our challenge in this state. In months and years past I have written on detox deaths in restraints, taser deaths, etc all of persons arrested/held/inarcerated/jailed for alcohol/other drug charges. These inhumane acts have been "norms" and little has been done to create standards for prevention and treatment needs in jails across the state. Prison is chosen over prevention and treatment/recovery support. I have often called this menality "Throw Away Soul" practices, as that is how we have felt at times while advocating and rallying behind legislation that would offer hope for those with addictive disorders-real hope. Our response is one that supports the money and politics of pro addiction communities--not pro-recovery. It's hard being the "squeaky wheel" but know all things take time and hard work. I know we will be speaking out in the days to come, as this region must be rebuilt with Recovery from addiction as a priority---Addiction is too profitable for too many powerful people in our state. Crisis can carry us forward--and that is the hope for our planning in days and months to come.

September 29, 2005

Trapped in a Flooding Jail Cell
The New Orleans police superintendent has been forced to resign because of the department's horrific performance in the Katrina disaster. New Orleans city officials should not stop there. They should also scrutinize corrections officials and the officers who work for them. A harrowing report from Human Rights Watch charges that corrections officers simply walked away from a locked and flooding jail building that housed 600 inmates. The prisoners were trapped and forgotten for as long as four days, the report says, and dozens are said to be unaccounted for on an official evacuation list.
Many of the inmates in the jail, the Orleans Parish lockup, were probably being held for minor offenses like public drunkenness and criminal trespass. Some jail buildings were evacuated in the early stages of the disaster. But the inmates in another building say the guards who were supposed to shepherd them out simply disappeared, leaving the cells and building doors locked. As the water began rising, the prisoners on the ground level could be heard calling for help. "We was calling down to the guys in the cells under us," one inmate is quoted as saying, "talking to them every few minutes. They were crying; they were scared."
Those on the upper level broke windows and either leapt out or set fire to pieces of clothing and held them outside the windows to signal to rescuers. The prisoners inside spent days without power, food or water, standing in sewage-tainted water up to their chests - or necks. The institution appears to have had no evacuation plan, even though it had been emptied out in a flood during the 90's. An official spokeswoman says that no lives were lost. But inmates say they saw bodies floating in the water when they were finally rescued. Asked about the prisoners missing from the evacuation lists, one corrections officer said that there "ain't no telling" what happened to them. Describing the event to investigators, one inmate said, "They left us to die there."
These shocking charges should be thoroughly investigated - and not be lost amid the other missteps and misdeeds that followed the hurricane.

Join Together reports on our work Addiction & Hurricane

2005-09-25T14:07:00.000-05:00

Over the Last weeks since the first Hurricane hit the Gulf Region Hopenetworks has been working to network resources to people in need of addicton treatment/recovery support. I and the other volunteers involved working from my personal home office, our trunks, and make shift offices all thank folks who have been reaching out in the recovering community, treatmen profession, and many other organizations and support systems to reach real people with immediate support and services in a very challenging time in our state.

I personally have spoken to many people, gotten thousands of emails, and am greatful for the outreach of support for real people with real needs. Realizing the totally obvious need for help prior to these disasters, and the lack of response (even with advocacy efforts by our organization) left great concern about how much would have to be done to reach the emerging needs too. The disconnect between people in the community with addiction related needs and the response to this need is not new to Louisiana. There are many hurdles that grass roots organizers face today, not having a degree in the"correct way" to participate in instituional programs/grants, etc is part of our own challenge, no team of lawyers, accountants, or other infrastructure to support the "business side of addiction" and add the challenge of the political implications and our broken system that continues to find capacity to incarcerate folks but not the capacity to address their underlying illness--untreated addiction and one can begin to see how this disconnect might progress. The gift of our Katrina/Hurricane outreach to those struggling with alcoholism/addiction issues is to detour all hoops and hurdles and get direct treatment support for recovery to those in direct need, and that is the greatest of all gifts it seems to those most in need here. I thank those involved in all levels working each day to reach those in need -and encourage thoese who want to help to contact me to join others involved in our emergency response to people displaced, impacted, and hurting in a very challenging time for all people in our region of the country.

Katrina Causes Wave of Addiction Problems 9/23/2005
News FeatureBy Bob Curley

Hurricane Katrina displaced thousands of people with addictions from their treatment programs and support networks, added strain on people who may have been walking the line between moderate use and addiction, and put millions at risk of turning to alcohol or other drugs to ease the pain of dislocation, financial ruin, and personal tragedy.However, the post-storm response to the needs of individuals with addiction problems in states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas has been a minor reflection of the larger picture: an outpouring of support from the private sector mixed with criticism of government efforts in a time of crisis.Media reports in the storm's aftermath included accounts of desperate addicts cut off from their suppliers in New Orleans and treatment programs in Baton Rouge dealing with an influx of addicts in withdrawal. Some officials even laid blame for post-storm looting in New Orleans at the feet of purported addicts stealing to support their habit.Samantha-Hope Atkins, founder and executive director of Louisiana's Hope Networks, a treatment and prevention advocacy program, calls the post-Katrina period "some of the most challenging times I've experienced in my own recovery." Louisiana, which had just 32 detox beds and perhaps 400 inpatient treatment beds statewide prior to the storm, has lost "easily one-third of services statewide," said Atkins, including 20 detox beds at New Orleans' Charity Hospital alone."We've seen some relapse, especially with people in early recovery who have lost their support network, people who don't know if their spouse is alive or dead, and among methadone patients," she said. "There are so many complex needs, from giving someone a Big Book to connecting them to resources."Atkins said that Louisiana's 12-step programs, which she said have always been strong because of the lack of government programs, have been working to distribute addiction-related materials in shelters. But she was critical of the public sector in the wake of the storm. "There has been absolutely no response to the needs of people in addiction recovery," said Atkins, who pointed out that most of the federal money that has trickled into the region has been for mental health, not addiction -- and even some of that has been earmarked for first-responders, not victims of the storm. "Our needs have been grossly neglected," said Atkins.SAMHSA: States Set PrioritiesOn Sept. 13, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that it was sending $600,000 in emergency mental-health grants to the region affected by Katrina. Of that money, $200,000 was sent to Louisiana to provide mental-health counseling for police, firefighters, and other first-responders; Alabama and Mississippi received $150,000 and $100,000, respectively, for mental-health services, and Texas received $150,000 for methadone services for storm evacuees. "Each jurisdiction was allowed to prioritize exactly what their need was," said H. Westley Clark, M.D., director of SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).Clark said that SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt are committed to addressing both addiction and mental health needs post-Katrina. Clark said that SAMHSA officials have toured the region -- and in some cased, have stayed to help -- and that a needs assessment is currently underway. SAMHSA's Emergency Response Center has been given the task of coordinating staff response to Katrina and responding to requests for aid.CSAT also has funded hotlines in Louisiana (1-877-664-2248 in state or 800-662-4357 out-of-state) for people with addictions, promising referrals to 12-step programs, treatment services, crisis-intervention teams, methadone maintenance, and other resources."An inventory [of lost capacity in the region] is still being conducted," said Clark. "People do not have access to services traditionally provided by facilities in New Orleans. We know Mississippi had shortages associated with substance-abuse issues."Asked how much of the $50 billion in emergency relief approved by Congress would go towards addiction services, Clark replied, "The administration is very much aware of the issue. We have to work with local communities to prioritize how that's allocated."Addiction Community Steps UpMeanwhile, the addiction community has stepped up with offers of assistance ranging from volunteer counselors to treatment beds for hurricane victims. Two weeks after the storm hit, Atkins circulated an urgent "wish list" that included the need for medical detox facilities, treatment placement, transportation and case management, and public information and outreach. "The void of services is enormous," wrote Atkins. "We are doing what we can to respond, as waiting for government resources is not an option."Atkins got an immediate response from Dr. Al Mooney, a North Carolina physician, who persuaded drug companies to donate medication needed for detox services and drove down to Baton Rouge in a motor home to help people in withdrawal. The Betty Ford Center offered to provide treatment for a half-dozen patients, and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence began mobilizing its affiliates nationally to help storm victims, Atkins said.Then, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) -- which happened to be holding its annual meeting in Florida -- pulled together its membership to pledge a total of $5 million worth of primary inpatient and other treatment services for Katrina victims. Hope Networks will help link people in need to the services offered by NAATP members."When a crisis of this magnitude hits, and there is no funding available, it's critical for the private sector to take action," said Ronald J. Hunsicker, president and CEO of NAATP. "I am proud that so many of the private treatment centers like Caron Foundation, Betty Ford Center, and others have come forward to donate over 100 treatment beds and airfare, amounting to several million dollars of life-saving alcohol and drug impatient treatment as well as potential longer-term treatment to the victims of this disaster.""This is a section of the country that's not the best, even in the best of times, at delivering treatment services," Hunsicker told Join Together. "Here we can demonstrate that the private sector -- driven by compassion and mission -- can respond in a way that the federal government can't or won't."Atkins said she will be able to fill those 100 donated treatment beds "in three days.""Our only hope is the bond of recovery communities and providers," she said. "The grassroots efforts have just been overwhelming."Different Populations Seen at RiskCSAT's Clark said the federal government is still trying to assess the need for services among hurricane victims. He noted that past experience has shown that a variety of different populations tend to be affected by disasters like Katrina."In the general population there are people who use alcohol in an acceptable fashion, but because of the magnitude of the storm may engage in dysfunctional coping," he said. "We recognize that as an expected outcome of major traumas [like Katrina]." Clark said the primary response to this population should be prevention materials and messages "because this is not a population with substance-abuse problems per-se." Over time, alcohol and other drug use among this population could be expected to drop to pre-storm levels, he said.People who were previously in treatment might relapse and need services, added Clark, and those currently in active treatment who were displaced also have a clear need for help. He also warned that the 78 percent of people who meet the criteria for abuse or dependence but don't think they need treatment may have to confront their drug or alcohol use because they have been cut off from their suppliers. "Those people could cause a rush for detox beds if they suddenly don't have access and start going through withdrawal," said Clark.Atkins noted that prior to the storm, the Louisiana state Office of Addictive Disorders estimated that 600,000 state residents met the criteria for alcohol or drug dependence, and 1,200 to 1,800 were on waiting lists for treatment every day. But Clark was reluctant to estimate the total numbers of people in the hurricane-afflicted region who need services -- a number that could grow even larger this week depending on the impact of Hurricane Rita. Clark did note that after the Oklahoma City bombing researchers found a 5-percent increase in alcohol use, while benzodiazepine use rose in New York in the aftermath of 9/11. But those were one-off events, and use tended to decline over time, he said."We don't have any accurate epidemiological data on this," said Clark. "We know about 1 million people have been affected ... and we will work with the departments of health and [state] substance-abuse officials to get a handle on it."However, he added, "Even if we don't speculate on an increased prevalence rate, we know that there is going to be a bump up, which is why we need an accurate assessment of need."Atkins said that addiction treatment and recovery should be at the top of the list as state and federal officials deal with the societal fallout of Hurricane Katrina. "When recovery is a priority, you can build healthy and safe communities," she said. "If additional substance-abuse money in Louisiana is not a priority, all other efforts to address these social-service needs will be flawed."Editor's Note: Hope Networks is coordinating volunteer treatment services for victims of Hurricane Katrina; visit their website at http://www.hopenetworks.org/ for more information. Readers can also visit the SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center online at http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/dtac/.
This article is online at http://www.jointogether.org/y/0,2521,578331,00.html

Rita hits areas Katrina missed-Hurricane 2 in weeks

2005-09-25T12:03:00.000-05:00

So much has been changing in our region of the country, lots of chaos for many people after virtually all of New Orleans (400,000) people or so vacated the battered city.

Then another hurricane comes barrelling out of the Gulf, supposed to hit mostly Texas--millions of people quickly evacutate the Galveston/Houston areas get trapped in gridlock for more than 24hrs, no gas- no water over there. Many folks being evacuated were Louisiana survivors that once again had to move out a storms way--some had relocated to these areas and were just starting to get apartments/housing etc.

Rita moved to the east in the hours before landing, and Louisiana it appeared would be hardest hit, the Lake Charles area they projected in hours before the storm him. This move to the east by Rita, would of course leave thousands wishing they had left their homes.

Today Sunday, the Day after Rita hit--SouthWest Louisiana is under water, and the water in areas of New Orelans, we are seeing the result of levees topped or leaking (not sure which) re-flooding the 9th ward.

Pretty unbelievable, but what can we do? We have to continue to work with communities impacted and reach out to those in need--we just know the need is growing, the areas not hit or impacted in our state

Wow! $5 Million in relief services for primary treatment.

2005-09-21T02:25:00.000-05:00

National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) to Allocate Over $5 Million to Help Support Addiction Crisis From Hurricane Katrina

The collaboration with the private treatment community in an effort to connect immediate need with immediate treatment services supporting recovery was announced in this press release today by our friends at NAATP. I personally thank all the memberes of NAATP, most especially Caron and Betty Ford, for their help in this relief effort, totally impossible without their immediate response to our requests for help down here. I also wish to thank the thousands of friends/people in recovery/supporting recovery and the needs of those in hurricane impacted areas. The overwhelming outreach and support reminds us that we truly are not alone, and their is hope for all of us!! Dr. Al Mooney responded with an effort to come down to Louisiana and set up a much needed detox effort, as waiting lists were long and he has dozens of years in working with alcoholics/addicts in need of medical support during detox. This effort totally grassroots is a miracle for those in need and was organized with little more than good will of many people to take real action to reach real people without delay. Again--to all working with us, volunteering, and passing on resources, we thank you!!! More updates in days to come!

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of AddictionTreatment Providers (NAATP) announced a relief effort valued at over $5million to provide primary inpatient beds and addiction treatment for thethousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina. Many victims who are facingwithdrawal or are in need of ongoing treatment services are in shelters wherethere are no facilities and do not have resources available to them. NAATP will coordinate the relief effort with HopeNetworks.org, agrassroots organization founded in Louisiana in 2002, networks people andorganizations for action to reduce the impact of addiction on communities.HopeNetworks is known for mobilizing efforts for Louisiana addiction recoverypolicy efforts, rallies, and outreach and education in local areas across thestate. According to Samantha Hope Atkins, Executive Director and Founder ofHopeNetworks.org, "We are in a state of emergency in terms of gettingtreatment help to thousands of people in shelters throughout Louisiana. Priorto Hurricane Katrina, there were only 32 Detox beds available for a populationof 4 million people. Today, there are less than 10 available to serve thosewho are suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms and do not have access totreatment and counseling from the shelters. In Louisiana currently 99% of alltreatment services are currently federally or state-funded and given themagnitude of the Katrina crisis there is a need for new funding help asfederal resources are stretched." NAATP's President and CEO, Dr. Ronald J. Hunsicker, stated, "When a crisisof this magnitude hits, and there is no funding available, it's critical forthe private sector to take action. I am proud that so many of the privatetreatment centers like Caron Foundation, Betty Ford Center, and others havecome forward to donate over 100 treatment beds and airfare amounting toseveral million dollars of life saving alcohol and drug inpatient treatment aswell as potential longer term treatment to the victims of this disaster. Any treatment centers wishing to become part of this initiative should logonto http://www.hopenetworks.org and complete the online form or calltoll-free 866-859-3513. Contact may also be made to NAATP athttp://www.naatp.org. Contact Information: Paula Chirhart The Abernathy MacGregor Group 212.371.5999
SOURCE National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers(NAATP)Web Site: http://www.naatp.org http://www.hopenetworks.org

Challenges in getting help to those in need.

2005-09-17T13:41:00.000-05:00

The Red Cross still won't allow a medical detox effort into the shelters. Lots of red tape and frustrations, and a policy in place that directs people to the local ER if in need. If people actively use alcohol or other drugs in the shelters, they have the police/military handle this by having those individuals and their famalies removed.

Yesterday, we continued our efforts with several volunteers in reaching those in need for help with alcohol/other drug problems after Katrina.

It has long been known that Louisiana has had problems with delivering an adequate response to addiction treatment needs of folks in our state.

After reaching out to friends and supporters across the country we are now able to provide Millions of dollars in private sector treatment services along with tranportation to those those directly in need. It is pretty amazing how God works, truly had no idea that we could organize this many helping hands this quiclkly. Special thanks to Bill White, Bill and Denise at Recoverynet radio, and leadership at the NATTP, The Betty Ford Center, The Entire staff reaching out from The Caron Foudation. We have had an ubelievable response from the private sector in our response to our plea for help. Working with Dr. Mooney who voluntarily drove down to Baton Rouge from North Carolina with donated medications to provide medical detox services- he has met with many folks, but is here to reach people in need, and that is where the challenge has become obvious.

There is tremendous red tape involved in the good will efforts of many to respond to this issue. While we want to believe that folks would not turn away those offering help to those in need of addiction treatment and recovery support services, it has become obvious that this is what is happening here.

Treatment Programs Organize to Help Hurricane Victims

2005-09-14T00:18:00.000-05:00

In the midst of chaos and crisis of Katrina, those in need of addiction treatment and primary medical detox continue to call out for help, help that is not available, and has not been since I began this collaborative, Hopenetworks.

Katrina has revealed much to the world via a camera, the internet, and print media. Much of the unknown but very real struggle for a great many of the people of our state has created almost a "shock" factor for those realizing the sea of hurt and cycles of struggle that seem to go unnoticed.
The basic needs -life sustaining needs denied to those literally trapped at the convetnion center, is much like another trap neglected for years prior to this tragedy. Social ills directly connected to untreated addiction and ample promotion of addictive substances has cycled for generations in our state.
People who are are poor, and struggling with social ills rooted in addiction have been denied help and hope for too long. I feel like we have been screaming "fire" in the years since I began HopeNetworks.

Addiction Recovery needs are growing, while resources for effective and available treatment are shrinking.

The waiting lists continue, and detox and a central point of entry for those with substance abuse needs is not being provided.

http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0,1854,578256,00.html

2005-09-08T16:58:00.000-05:00

Without programs to treat addiction, it's no wonder that the social fabric is torn to shreds--

Gee where have I heard this from before todays Headline in "Newsday"?
Hopenetworks-text I wrote, 3 years ago....from our archives.
"Today there is work to do. Regardless of who you are, what profession, your education, your race, religion, or political beliefs or non beliefs, you are impacted by addiction. Like the plague itself, there are no persons in the U.S. free from the impact of addiction. The lack of education and awareness by the general public is as rampant as the problem itself! People, are indeed funding the clean up efforts for a problem that can be prevented and treated with unbelievable savings both in lives and dollars. This is a concept that must be brought to the forefront of every state's political arena. "

Our website -Another victim of Katrina's wrath- that we hope to rescue from New Orleans sometime soon while using this temp site we are building as we go....The first real public collaboration effort is also a huge clearinghouse of resource and data from our efforts to work on these issues at the grassroots level--not a very welcomed effort -we spoke the truth about these issues and took virtually all actions possible to see policy change. A puzzle that simply did not connect data, facts, and research supporting a comprehensive approach to the "elephant in our livingroom" alcohol/other drug addictions just did not support current systems and those that are vested in seeing their operations continue with little interest in real action for change in our state.

Just this past legislative session, we were slammed, no I was slammed as I pushed for the unwelcomed political pitfall--an alcohol tax to increase the measly 32 detox beds available to the public statewide--an apalling fact considering alcohol is the most abused drug in our state, and one of the most life threatning detox experiences --this alone tells part of the story.

As a novice, diving into this effort, it was shocking to me to realize that incarceration dollars were available yet treatment/recovrey support funds were not. The federal government spent lots of money in research etc to advise America that treatment worked, recovery was possible, yet that had little impact on those who have dug into the stigma and moral beliefs that kill addicts/alcoholics and destroy communities.

As a person who has worked tirelessly to organize, educate, raise awareness about the crisis in Louisiana, especially the most densly populated city of New Orleans--I am just filled with heartbreak, knowing how different the news stories could be. It is very hard to read outsiders writing and commentary. We didn't all ignore the harsh reality and dirty secret of alcoholism and addictions hold on our communities. No, some of us did all we could to ring an alarm bell to any lawmaker, media, or possible power that would listen, Louisiana's cycles of addiction, poverty, incarceration and illiteracy are huge indicators begging for reform.

The knowledge that the poorest among us were what I have called "throw away souls" have been hardest hit, again nothing new.

BY PATRICK MOOREPatrick Moore is a writer and drug counselor living in Los Angeles. His book on crystal meth addiction, "Tweaked," will be published next year.September 8, 2005Many television viewers watching the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last week found that their compassion soured as they watched the violence and looting in New Orleans. But what did those images really mean?Disasters have a way of making hidden problems visible and, in this case, the effects of disproportionate addiction and alcoholism rates in poor, minority communities have been dramatically revealed. Already living in despair before the disaster, the looters were deprived of the "medicine" that made life bearable; violence was inevitable.As New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin said in an interview on a local radio station, "Drugs flowed in and out of New Orleans and the surrounding metropolitan area so freely it was scary to me. ... People don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to talk about it. You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will."The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has identified lack of education and unemployment as characteristics of those most likely to develop addiction problems. As an HHS report states, "Those who live in poverty are also exposed to other adverse conditions, including availability of drugs, lack of legitimate opportunity, alienation and hopelessness."New Orleans is known as a party town, but the truth of addiction there is far from a party, especially for those living in poverty. Louisiana has been identified as one of the top 20 states in America where a treatment gap exists between those who need treatment and those who receive it. In New Orleans, where nearly a third of the population lives in poverty and the majority of the poor are black, addiction is a major problem among the very group left behind to face the hurricane. That nearly half of the men arrested in the city in recent years have tested positive for cocaine, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is only one indicator of the problem's extent.Addiction is, of course, not limited to New Orleans. It is estimated that more than 20 million Americans are dependent on illicit drugs and alcohol. Be it New Orleans, New York or Los Angeles, large numbers of poor addicts exist in most urban areas in America, and a natural disaster or terrorist attack in another city might well yield similar results.The Bush administration has been particularly adept at providing false linkages between some subjects - 9/11 and Iraq, for instance - while denying others. New Orleans illustrates President George W. Bush's willful ignorance. When the president talks about "zero tolerance" for looters, he seems unable to recognize the conditions that produced their behavior. It's hard to imagine his drawing a connection between the violence of looting by desperate poor people living in addiction and his own economic policies. Yet, the brutality of his "compassionate conservatism" is evidenced by poverty levels rising under this administration while federal funding for drug treatment has gone down.While the total drug control budget has risen, law enforcement remains the primary focus and treatment funding shows a net decline. Experts have long agreed that treatment is more effective than law enforcement sweeps and drug eradication. Yet valuable funds continue to be spent prosecuting medical marijuana clubs while millions need treatment.Addiction is admittedly a difficult disease to treat. Prevention campaigns and physical detox are useful, but effective approaches demand greater resources. The most successful rehabilitation programs are in-patient and last at least 30 days. During that time, patients are provided with counseling, medical care, psychiatric evaluation and job training. Transitional housing after treatment further enhances the chances of an addict staying sober and returning to a productive life.This type of treatment is now mostly available only to the wealthy or those with private insurance. We need to widen the range of recipients. While rigorous treatment programs are expensive, experts agree that they are still far more cost-effective than law enforcement.In America, the poor are disproportionately likely to be addicts and less likely to have effective treatment available to them. When these people are forced to come down hard, it's not surprising that some of them turn to violence. Law enforcement is not the answer. We need to reduce poverty in America and provide effective addiction treatment. We can no longer hide this problem or wait for the next crisis to deal with it.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

From the Archived Website -text I wrote in 2002 -linking to the various studies/state rankings where Louisiana lagged--these social ills were the focus point of advocacy efforts for the people of our state, not the lobbysits that killed much of our legislative efforts that grew from the bottom up into the chambers of the louisiana legislature.

Louisiana has Social Ills, that add up in both lives lost, and dollars spent.Louisiana provides 8% of the population in need of Alcohol/Drug treatment with availability, the national average is 21%. Below you will find links to problems that have been identified as areas impacted in states attempting to "clean-up" the wreckage of addiction related illness, rather than stop the cycle, provide treatment, and comprehensive community support systems.

Education, Healthcare, Social Services, Judicial, Corrections, Public Safety, Economic Development, are all areas impacted in both dollars spent, and quality of life in our communities. Unhealthy communities will struggle. Addiction is the nation's number one public health problem, and Louisiana has not tackled this "elephant" in the living rooms of Louisiana. The negative impact of poverty, incarceration, and illiteracy becomes critical when we as a state attempt to reduce state spending and grow our economy. Living in denial of these problems, won't allow us to move forward. So below is an effort to identify the fact that we have real problems, that require intensive, comprehensive, collaborative efforts to improve systems that are not working.

Some 80% of those incarcerated have untreated substance abuse problems. Jail is not medical treatment, and most will return to our communities, still facing their addiction, with little hope of contributing to the tax base. We need comprehensive support systems, that return those with the ability and skills to succeed. A Trained healthy workforce, means more industry attracted to the state, improved quality of education, safer communities, and improved overall community support systems, that is what we hope to grow out of HopeNetworks.

Letter to President New Orleans, Times Picayune

2005-09-04T22:32:00.000-05:00

This is from Sunday's Times Picayune:
An Open Letter to the President

Editorial blasts federal response
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- The Times-Picayune of New Orleans printed this editorial in its Sunday edition, criticizing the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina and calling on every FEMA official to be fired:
An open letter to the President
Dear Mr. President:
We heard you loud and clear Friday when you visited our devastated city and the Gulf Coast and said, "What is not working, we're going to make it right."
Please forgive us if we wait to see proof of your promise before believing you. But we have good reason for our skepticism.
Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one main reason: It's accessible. The city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718.
How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships, barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks.
Despite the city's multiple points of entry, our nation's bureaucrats spent days after last week's hurricane wringing their hands, lamenting the fact that they could neither rescue the city's stranded victims nor bring them food, water and medical supplies.
Meanwhile there were journalists, including some who work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning, that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city.
Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a "Today" show story Friday morning.
Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach.
We're angry, Mr. President, and we'll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry. Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That's to the government's shame.
Mayor Ray Nagin did the right thing Sunday when he allowed those with no other alternative to seek shelter from the storm inside the Louisiana Superdome. We still don't know what the death toll is, but one thing is certain: Had the Superdome not been opened, the city's death toll would have been higher. The toll may even have been exponentially higher.
It was clear to us by late morning Monday that many people inside the Superdome would not be returning home. It should have been clear to our government, Mr. President. So why weren't they evacuated out of the city immediately? We learned seven years ago, when Hurricane Georges threatened, that the Dome isn't suitable as a long-term shelter. So what did state and national officials think would happen to tens of thousands of people trapped inside with no air conditioning, overflowing toilets and dwindling amounts of food, water and other essentials?
State Rep. Karen Carter was right Friday when she said the city didn't have but two urgent needs: "Buses! And gas!" Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially.
In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said his agency hadn't known until that day that thousands of storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. He gave another nationally televised interview the next morning and said, "We've provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they've gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day."
Lies don't get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President.
Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told him, "You're doing a heck of a job."
That's unbelievable.
There were thousands of people at the Convention Center because the riverfront is high ground. The fact that so many people had reached there on foot is proof that rescue vehicles could have gotten there, too.
We, who are from New Orleans, are no less American than those who live on the Great Plains or along the Atlantic Seaboard. We're no less important than those from the Pacific Northwest or Appalachia. Our people deserved to be rescued.
No expense should have been spared. No excuses should have been voiced. Especially not one as preposterous as the claim that New Orleans couldn't be reached.
Mr. President, we sincerely hope you fulfill your promise to make our beloved communities work right once again.
When you do, we will be the first to applaud.

Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/04/times.picayune.editorial

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/katrina/pdf/090405/a15.pdf

2005-09-04T13:31:00.000-05:00

We now have temp site up where we will be communicating to our members, friends, and folks in need. www.hopenetworks.org will serve as a primary point for web communications.

Many thanks,

Samantha-Hope

2005-09-03T17:16:00.000-05:00

http://www.aa.org/default/en_contact.cfm

2005-09-03T14:07:00.000-05:00

Many Sending Spiritual Strength
Amazing Outreach by those supporting Louisiana-Louisiana Recovery

Prayer for Strength and Healing

Dear God:

I really need Your help today. Sometimes it seems like the world around me is filled with fear, loss, pain, anger, and confusion. And when I look inside me, I see more fear, loss, pain, anger, and confusion.

I know You‚Äôve saved me from so much in the past, and I know You‚Äôre still the most important thing in my life. But I‚Äôm having a hard time holding onto You now, and believing that You can ever keep me safe and heal this broken place. So I‚Äôm asking for Your help today.

It‚Äôs never really been easy being me, and it‚Äôs a lot harder now. I‚Äôve been working on living the way You want me to, and learning to treat people¬æincluding myself¬æwith love and respect.

But now big parts of my life have been washed away, and it almost feels like part of my soul has been washed away too. Sometimes I don‚Äôt even understand the way I feel, or the way the people around me are acting. I‚Äôm exhausted. My nerves are raw. How can I use Your love and Your principles to get through all this and come out stronger and better?

I know from past experience that You often heal me by helping me find and use the strengths you‚Äôve already given me¬æstrengths that I sometimes forget to use. Then, little by little, things get better. I get better. So today I‚Äôm going to ask You to show me these and other strengths inside me, and to help me remember them and use them all day:
¬∑ Trusting You: When I trust You¬ætrust You no matter what¬æmy fear gets smaller, and I get calmer. I know You‚Äôre taking care of me, and You‚Äôll keep taking care of me in ways I don‚Äôt yet understand. I start to see things more clearly, and I make better choices.
¬∑ Accepting Your Will: When I try to accept Your will¬æeven though I‚Äôm hurting and I don‚Äôt know what you want for me¬æthen the fear starts to disappear. I can feel safe, even if there‚Äôs danger around me. I can face whatever happens and do whatever You want me to do, whether You want me to stay or go, speak or be silent, take a stand or simply watch things happen. I just need to keep trying to do what you want.

¬∑ Healing the Wounds: I know I‚Äôve been hurt by this experience, even though sometimes I just feel numb. I also know there are old wounds deep inside me that make it harder to handle what‚Äôs going on now. I‚Äôm willing to let You heal all these wounds, no matter what I have to do. Sometimes the best way to heal is just to feel whatever I feel, even if I don‚Äôt like it. Sometimes I have to ask for help and let people help me. Sometimes I can heal by speaking my truth, sometimes by letting go of guilt or resentment, and¬æalmost always¬æby trying to do things the way You want me to, even though it‚Äôs still hard.
¬∑ Choosing to Love: I ask You to help me choose to love myself and others, with all our flaws and mistakes. I don‚Äôt have to fix other people or take away their pain. I just have to love them and be a respectful witness to their pain, so they‚Äôre not going through it alone. Love isn‚Äôt an emotion; it‚Äôs a decision. Whenever I‚Äôm making that decision, it‚Äôs easier to heal, and harder to cause problems for myself or anyone else.
¬∑ Understanding: Please help me keep an open mind, be honest with myself, and see everyone¬æincluding myself¬æwith compassion. Help me remember that the painful and sometimes irrational things we‚Äôre thinking and feeling right now are normal reactions to a very painful situation¬æthe kind of situation that human beings just aren‚Äôt built to understand. Help me take the time to understand people before I react to them.
¬∑ Vigilance: Please help me be vigilant, so that I can tell whether a person, situation, or action is likely to help me heal or cause more problems.
¬∑ Discipline: Please give me the discipline to make choices that will help me heal and avoid choices that will cause more problems.
¬∑ Grace: If I do start to make unwise choices, please help me catch my balance and set things right before my words or actions can lead to any problems.
¬∑ Responsibility: Please give me the courage to take responsibility for my mistakes and their consequences, and to make amends for any harm I‚Äôve done, whenever I can do this without causing more harm. Please also help me take responsibility for being part of my own healing¬æfor asking for the help I need, and accepting it.
¬∑ Forgiveness: Please teach me to forgive myself and others for the harm we‚Äôve done, no matter how large or small our mistakes, and no matter how old or new the wounds are. Help me understand that forgiveness doesn‚Äôt give me or anyone else permission to keep on doing harm; it just means I don‚Äôt have to carry the past around any more.
¬∑ Community: Please help me reach out to others, to help them and accept the help that they have to offer. I know my healing will be deeper and more complete if I do it in community with others. We may feel like we‚Äôre broken, but together we‚Äôre whole. And in the love I give to others, I‚Äôll find the love I need from You.

I thank You for giving me these strengths, and for helping me find them and use them today. With your help I will survive this, and I will grow much stronger and closer to You.

(Pam Woll, September, 2005)

2005-09-02T17:09:00.000-05:00

Contact us if you have a safe and sober place for those in recovery seeking relocation or other support efforts you can pass on to those in recovery and in need.

More than four days after Hurricane Katrina struck, the National Guard arrived in force Friday with food, water and weapons, churning through the floodwaters in a vast truck convoy that was met with both catcalls and cries of "Thank you, Jesus!" from the suffering multitudes. read this article

Nola reports that major help is finally coming to the hopeless, hanging on in our devestated city, and I just heard President Bush state in a press conf--- "We are coming for those at the convention center" and we pray they will hurry.
Thank God! The Mayor was very angry earlier today, fearful that folks hanging by a thread would not survive another night in the heat with no food no water and no way out --deaths continue, and hope is now going to be present for those in neeed.
"Get off your asses and let's do something," the mayor told WWL-AM Thursday night in a rambling interview in which he cursed, yelled and ultimately burst into tears. At one point he said: "Excuse my French ‚Äî everybody in America ‚Äî but I am pissed."
more in a bit heading to the shelters......Samanthahope

2005-09-01T18:33:00.000-05:00

Please contact me sam@hopenetworks.org

We have large numbers of people in need of safe/sober housing.

If you have housing out of state and can help relocate folks or instate--let us know.

Oxford House is one resource, but space is limited at present.

Numbers for Trapped-New Orleans

2005-09-01T17:56:00.000-05:00

Emergency phone numbers for people in distress in N.O.

The Coast Guard strongly urges people in distress in the New Orleans area contact the search and rescue emergency line for the State Office of Emergency Preparedness in Baton Rouge.

The emergency numbers are as follows:

(225) 925-7708(225) 925-7709(225) 925-3511
To inquire about family and friends that did not evacuate the Greater New Orleans area contact the American Red Cross at the following number:

(866) 438-4636.

Charity Hospital URGENT NEED

2005-09-01T17:28:00.000-05:00

"We have been trying to call the mayor's office, we have been trying to call the governor's office ... we have tried to use any inside pressure we can. We are turning to you. Please help us," said Dr. Norman McSwain, chief of trauma surgery at Charity Hospital, the largest of two public hospitals.

New Orleans doctors plead for help
9/1/2005, 4:10 p.m. CT
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE The Associated Press
http://www.nola.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/national-50/112560684187871.xml&storylist=hurricane
(AP) ‚Äî Doctors at two desperately crippled hospitals in New Orleans called The Associated Press Thursday morning pleading for rescue, saying they were nearly out of food and power and had been forced to move patients to higher floors to escape looters.
"We have been trying to call the mayor's office, we have been trying to call the governor's office ... we have tried to use any inside pressure we can. We are turning to you. Please help us," said Dr. Norman McSwain, chief of trauma surgery at Charity Hospital, the largest of two public hospitals.
Charity is across the street from Tulane University Medical Center, a private facility that has almost completed evacuating more than 1,000 patients and family members, he said.
No such public resources are available for Charity, which has about 250 patients, or University Hospital several blocks away, which has about 110 patients.
"We need coordinated help from the government," McSwain said.
He described horrific conditions.
"There is no food in Charity Hospital. They're eating fruit bowl punch and that's all they've got to eat. There's minimal water," McSwain said.
"Most of their power is out. Much of the hospital is dark. The ICU (intensive care unit) is on the 12th floor, so the physicians and nurses are having to walk up floors to see the patients."
Dr. Lee Hamm, chairman of medicine at Tulane University, said he took a canoe from there to the two public hospitals, where he also works, to check conditions.
"The physicians and nurses are doing an incredible job, but there are patients laying on stretchers on the floor, the halls were dark, the stairwells are dark. Of course, there's no elevators. There's no communication with the outside world," he said.
"We're afraid that somehow these two hospitals have been left off ... that somehow somebody has either forgotten it or ignored it or something, because there is no evidence anything is being done."
Hamm said there was relief Wednesday as word traveled throughout University Hospital that the National Guard was coming to evacuate them, but the rescue never materialized.
"You can imagine how demoralizing that was," he said.
Throughout the entire city, the death, destruction and depravity deepened even as the hurricane waters leveled off.
"Hospitals are trying to evacuate," said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesan, spokesman at the city emergency operations center. "At every one of them, there are reports that as the helicopters come in people are shooting at them. There are people just taking pot shots at police and at helicopters, telling them, 'You better come get my family.'"
Richard Zuschlag, president of Acadian Ambulance Service Inc., described the chaos at a suburban hospital.
"We tried to airlift supplies into Kenner Memorial Hospital late last evening and were confronted by an unruly crowd with guns, and the pilots refused to land," he said.
"My medics were crying, screaming for help. When we tried to land at Kenner, my pilots got scared because 100 people were on the helipad and some of them had guns. He was frightened and would not land."
Zuschlag said 65 patients brought to the roof of another city hospital, Touro Infirmary, for evacuation Wednesday night spent the night there. The hospital's generator and backup generator had failed, and doctors decided it was safer to keep everyone on the roof than carry fragile patients back downstairs.
"The hospital was so hot that with no rain or anything, they were better off in the fresh air on the roof," he said.
When patients have been evacuated, where to take them becomes the next big decision.
"They're having to make strategic decisions about where to send people literally in midair," said John Matessino, president of the Louisiana Hospital Association. "It's a very difficult thing to prioritize when they're all a priority."
Knox Andress, an emergency nurse who is regional coordinator for a federal emergency preparedness grant covering the state, said it's impossible to underestimate the critical role hospitals are playing for anyone left in the city.
"They're running out of their medications, they're running out of money. They're having social issues and where do they go? They go to the hospital. The hospital is the backbone of the community because the lights are always on," he said.
When hospitals can't take care of people and the rescuers need rescued, there's no social fabric left, Andress said.
Hospitals weren't the only facilities with troubles.
Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who has been working with search and rescue, confirmed that 30 people died at a nursing home in St. Bernard Parish and 30 others were being evacuated. He did not give any further details.
____
Associated Press writers Melinda Deslatte, Wendy Benjaminson, Janet McConnaughey, Adam Nossiter and Brett Martel contributed to this report from Louisiana. Medical writer Marilynn Marchione is based in Milwaukee.

Baton Rouge Overwhelmed- City is Giving all they can..

2005-09-01T17:19:00.000-05:00

Trouble near shelters, people are scared, hungry and mentally and emotionally exhausted--

Nola reports trouble at LSU in BR where large shelter is located:

‚ÄúThere have been confirmed reports of civil unrest in the Baton Rouge area this morning. These incidents appear to be confined to specific areas in the downtown Baton Rouge area and specific locations around the community,‚Äù O‚ÄôKeefe‚Äôs e-mail said. ‚ÄúAt this time, local law enforcement are reported to have the situation contained,‚Äù the chancellor said, but added that to ensure campus safety ‚Äúwe have instructed that all buildings on campus be locked and we ask that occupants remain indoors.‚Äù

Baton Rouge Shelters- Full or Available

2005-09-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

The Baton Rouge Office of Emergency Preparation has this list available in the Baton Rouge area.
The following shelters are at capacity:
Baton Rouge River Center (Closed)S.G. Building Southern UniversityIstrouma BaptistBaker MunicipalErwinvillePlaquemine High SchoolLamar Dixon ExpoDenham Springs Junior High SchoolWest Baton Rouge shelters

The following shelters are available:Denham Springs High SchoolNorthparkPort Allen Community CenterMed Express Office (Alexandria)P.E. Gym Lsu (Shreveport)Pickering High School (Leesville)Mowad Civic Ctr (Oakdale)Our Lady Of Prompt Succor Church (White Castle)Cajundome (Lafayette)Miracle Place (Baker)Goodwood Church Of ChristCivic Center (New Roads)Sam Clark Civic Center (Maleville)
Red Cross Shelters:Denham Springs Junior High SchoolPort Allen Community CenterAddis VFW
Independent shelters:
Faith Baptist Church in BakerBethany World Prayer Center off Reiger RoadGoodwood Boulevard Church of Christ, Goodwood at SharpIstrouma Baptist Church, I-12 at airline

Emergency call centers available:
Cingular store locations in Morgan City, Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Zachary, Hammond, Plaquemine and Lafayette; Mobile and Foley, Ala.; Natchez, Miss.

Red Cross donation drop offs:6725 Seigen Lane1051 Airline Drive (Gonzales21925 Highway 1 South Gate No. 1 Dow Chemical Plant (Plaquemine)
The phone number for the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness: 925-7500.
Parish OEPsAscension OEP 622-8630Livingston 686-3066WBR 346-1577St. Tammany 985-898-2359Tangipahoa 985-748-9602West Feliciana 635-6428

Other numbers:Red Cross: 1-800-Help-Now

To Check On Family And Friends: 1-866-Get-Info,Donations: 1-800-435-7669
Fema: 1-800-621-3362
Disaster UmemploymentAssistance: 1-800-621-
FemaBoat Donations: 225- 925-2706
Road Closures: 225-925-6626
Finding Missing Persons: 225-922-7708/225-922-7709
In New Orleans In Distress: 225-925-7708/ 225-925-7709/ 225-925-3511/ 225- 925-7412
Hotel Info: 800-99-Gumbo
Displaced Animals Donations: 1-800-928-LvmaAnimal Shelter: 225-578-2255

Operation Share Your Home: 888-827-2525

Shelters available/encourage registration:
- Livonia High School, Livonia
- East Iberville High School, 3285 Hwy. 75, Saint Gabriel
- Scott Civic Center, 1200 Major Parkway, New Roads
- Denham Springs Junior High School, 401 Hatchell Lane, Denham Springs
- Denham Springs High School, 1000 North Range Ave., Denham Springs
- Albany High School, 1 Hornet Lane, Albany
- Dutchtown High School, 13165 Hwy. 73, Prairieville
- Baker Municipal Center, 3325 Groom Road, Baker
- Lamar Dixon Expo, Gonzales
- The Cajundome in Lafayette
- The LSU Maddox Fieldhouse (for special needs patients only)
- The emergency shelter at Plaquemine High School will remain open throughout the week.
Full to capacity: (no longer taking registration)
Scott Civic Center, New Roads
Tara High School, Baton Rouge

-->Volunteers are needed to assist with disaster relief. To register, call the Chapter at (225) 291-4533. A volunteer registration packet can be obtained through the Red Cross website at www.batonrouge.redcross.org. Nurses are in need at this time.
For further information, people may contact the American Red Cross at 1-866-GET-INFO or locally at (225) 291-4533.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of this disaster and disasters across the country by making a financial gift to the Louisiana Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross or the National Disaster Relief Fund, which enables your local chapter to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call (225) 291-4533. Contributions to the American Red Cross may be sent to10201 Mayfair Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.batonrouge.redcross.org.