A Just Ida Recovery in the Gulf South

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Contact: Bekah Hinojosa (956) 975-6634 or anothergulfispossible@gmail.com

A Just Ida Recovery in the Gulf South

Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative uses mutual aid funds to provide just recovery kits to our network of frontline Indigenous, Black, and Brown, and community members impacted by Hurricane Ida. 

NEW ORLEANS, LA — Hurricane Ida left a devastating track after making landfall at Category 4 strength on the same date Hurricane Katrina hit 16 years ago. Extreme weather occurrences are more frequent, as evidenced by Hurricane Season 2020 in South Louisiana, which produced Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta. 

The Gulf South is one of the epicenters of the petrochemical industry that is driving climate change, adding an even more horrific element to the process of hurricane recovery. The land and water are at high risk of being further toxified from the damage caused due to flooding from the storm surge, high-velocity wind (up to 150 mph), in addition to chemical spills, flares, and fires. This is all occurring in the midst of the Delta variant surge in the pandemic, impacting Indigenous, Black, and Brown people the most. 

“Our communities, and especially fishermen, have just been having a tough time in general,” said Monique Verdin, Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative member based in Bvlbancha (New Orleans). “It was not that long ago that the BP drilling disaster happened, and there were years of impacts to the fisheries, and the fisheries have just bounced back. And more storms like this could take out a whole fleet and a whole community.” 

For years, Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative has been engaged in mutual aid support, including “Just Recovery” kits and “Re-Entry” kits to help families return to their homes after a disaster. Our mutual aid includes immediate financial support, and the kits contain solar-powered equipment, non-perishables, non-toxic solutions to remove mold, and water purification gear. Another Gulf is Possible also curates rapid response resources and community requests in real-time during disasters in the Gulf South, and presently for Hurricane Ida through our Just Ida Recovery Resource webpage. 

“Our communities are going to be without power in Louisiana’s summer heat indefinitely. For the last couple years, we’ve positioned ourselves to help meet those immediate needs with our Just Recovery Kits, to provide solar power and clean water,” said Anne White Hat, Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative member based in Bvlbancha (New Orleans). “These are investments in long-term Just Transition and survival.”

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Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative is a women-of-color-led, grassroots collaborative of eleven members from Brownsville, Texas to Pensacola, Florida. Our collaborative centers cultural organizing, arts-based healing, direct action, advocacy, transformative justice, education, and locally-led capacity-building training as our core areas of work. For more information, visit anothergulf.com.