Oxygen Collective Arrives in New Orleans

After a long trek across the country, covering 2600 miles in three days, the Oxygen Collective bus finally arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday. We made our way to the Common Ground Media Center, where we connected with our dear friend Kerul who has been hard at work here for over 2 months. From there, we took a short tour of the heavily damaged 9th Ward. It is hard to describe what we are witnessing. After more than 3 months since the storms hit, it is shocking to see the state of this neighborhood. Trash and debris are piled everywhere. There is no electricity on most streets. With residents discouraged from returning home by military blockades, curfews, and the perception that everything is destroyed, It feels a ghost town.

We made our way to our home for now, at the Common Ground Collective 9th Ward Community Center. This space is one of many operated by Common Ground across New Orleans. Less than 2 weeks ago, the Community Center was a flood damaged church center filled with black mold. Now it is an ever evolving Community Center housing and feeded the volunteers who have come to New Orleans to help out.

Soon after we settled in, we immeidately plugged into ongoing efforts to transform this space into a functioning Community Center. Projects included building a bike corral, setting up a tarp structure to store tools and safety gear, sweeping and piling the endless mounds of trash on the block, and preping food for dinner.

On our first full day in New Orleans, members of our crew have been busy working gutting houses in the lower 9th Ward. This work involves removing all flood damaged property and ripping down mold covered walls in an attempt to save the structure from being a total loss. This is a first step towards the return of residents to these neighborhoods and building a resistance to the blatant land grab of corrupt New Orleans business interests.

The work of Common Ground is crucial to the just recovery of New Orleans. As we deepen our involvement in the various projects underway here, we will post further updates relaying the stories of our experiences. Please stay tuned.

Thank you so much to all of you who supported our efforts to get here and to all who hosted us along the way.

Posted by Forrest at December 8, 2005 08:44 PM | Category(s): Gulf Coast Relief: Supporting Resident's Right to Return