Press on Katrina & the Gulf Coast

5 Years Post-Katrina, Housing Crisis Lingers in New Orleans

iwpr — 2010-11-03T16:05:00Z

Though the storm has long since passed, women and children in New Orleans are still without shelter.
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, while the city’s recovery hobbles forward after Hurricane Katrina’s punishing blows, a deep affordable housing crisis continues to hold back impoverished mothers:

Five years later, market rates for renting private apartments have risen, nearly all of the old public apartments have been removed while the new remain under construction, and former residents of public housing are still displaced. For public housing tenants, most of whom were low-income African American women and their families, housing support in New Orleans has been transformed.

Study: Less Black Women in Post-Katrina New Orleans

iwpr — 2010-11-03T16:02:37Z

Fewer Black women remained, returned or moved to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, according to a new report by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, reports the Louisiana Weekly. While Black women continue to be the largest group of women in New Orleans, the population of White women has increased from 43.1 percent to 51.6 percent, and Hispanic women from 5.3 percent to 6.8 percent, while the number of Black women in the city dropped from 47.2 percent to 37.3 percent. While New Orleans rebuilds, African-American women and children see little change. According to the report, a lack of affordable housing options and fewer employment opportunities continue to hold back the progress of Black women in the city. The employment gap between White and Black women is most troubling. In 2008, Black women made 48.6 cents for every dollar made by White women, while Hispanic women made 53.2 cents for every dollar made by White women.

Five years after Katrina… Black women, children and the poor most vulnerable Poor women remain 'in limbo,' study finds

iwpr — 2010-11-03T16:02:37Z

"Women of color remained, returned, or moved to New Orleans in low numbers relative to white women in the five years since Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of the city, according to fact sheets released Friday by the Institute for Women's Policy Research... 'We've spoken with more than 200 women in our current study," Dr. Jane Henrici, IWPR Study Director said last week. 'Many are settled, either in new cities or back in New Orleans. But many others are still 'in limbo' and struggling - they can't afford the new rents in New Orleans, and are looking for jobs as well as homes. Women need to become a central part of the planning processes for disaster recovery, including housing planning in all cities - to help keep the most vulnerable out of 'limbo,' especially as new crises occur.'"