Take Action Today! Sign the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund petitions to protect renters against price gouging and to make the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) accountable to people without homes, not developers. Spread the Word!
Nearly a quarter of a million New Orleanians remain Internally Displaced People—with no homes in New Orleans to return to. "The Road Home"—the federally funded recovery program— offers the majority of New Orleanians—renters— no compensation at all. Yet, 90% of the rentals in Gentilly, 84% of rentals in the Lower 9th Ward, 76% in Village de l’Est and 61% in Mid City—all predominantly low income Black neighborhoods, were destroyed. Courageous renters who are trying to rebuild their lives in New Orleans spend months searching for a place to rent, and when they find it, the landlord invariably charges at least double for property that is barely habitable.
To advance the campaign to win affordable housing, rent control and tenants rights in New Orleans, the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund is launching two urgent petition drives. Each petition is part of a strategy to challenge government representatives to support the peoples’ right to return home.
The first petition demands that the New Orleans City Council pass legislation to curb price gouging and provide basic protections for renters.
The second petition, the Louisiana Recovery Authority Reconstitution petition, will be delivered to Governor Kathleen Blanco and the Louisiana State Legislature demanding that that the LRA be disbanded and that a new, representative body reflective of the race and class composition of the affected areas be created to take its place. As it is currently constituted, the LRA is accountable only to developers when making decisions about what to do with federal recovery money.
The goal of the petition drive is to get 10,000 signatures for each petition by January 31, 2007. Once we attain this goal, we will deliver the petitions to the City Council and State Legislature to press our demands and the legislation we need to help realize the right of return. We need you to take the petition to your place of worship, work, union hall, school, social club and spread the word amongst your family and friends.
Please mail the original of each completed petition to PHRF, 1418 North Claiborne #2, New Orleans, LA 70118 or fax a copy to (504) 301-0306.
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