| "The Equity and Inclusion Campaign plays a vital role in the recovery of the Gulf. While my day to day job focuses on housing and community development at the local level, almost all tools at my disposal for accomplishing my goals are federally legislated. The Campaign has given me the opportunity to be focused on my area (housing) with other Gulf housing advocates, and still be working side by side with organizations in other issue areas so that we create one strong voice for the rebuilding of the Gulf." |
Jessica Venegas
Unity of Greater New Orleans
New Orleans, LA |
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| "The formation of this campaign broadened my networking ability from state to state. And personally at the federal level, I was able have a voice, by telling my story, to show my face, not just a flash on a television screen. I am a Hurricane Katrina survivor, advocate and activist - now standing with other states from across the Gulf Coast region." |
Jackie Washington
Biloxi NAACP
Biloxi, MS |
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| "Equity and Inclusion Campaign serves a unique and necessary purpose in aiding the recovery efforts in Alabama. Following Hurricane Katrina, many community based organizations were working independently to address the needs of affected citizens in the Gulf Coast region; unfortunately their efforts while concurrent, weren't unified, and often yielded minimal results. The E&I Campaign has provided a platform for those organizations to combine their efforts and resources to achieve powerful results as well as identify unlikely leadership and nontraditional stakeholders which strengthen the recovery process. The Campaign has provided a voice not only for Alabama but for the region as a whole, as participants are working together across state lines to keep recovery on the national agenda." |
Simone Washington
Center for Fair Housing
Mobile, AL |
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| "Living and working in the area of the greatest land loss in the world (the southeastern Louisiana parishes of Terrebonne and Lafourche); we realize how vulnerable our communities are to encroaching extinction. Although this issue is initially local to us, its impact and solutions are regional, national and international in scope. The Equity and Inclusion Campaign has assisted us greatly in our ability to initiate action in working to address the issue of coastal land loss/erosion at levels of organization designed for greater impact." |
Patty Whitney
Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing
Thibodaux, LA |
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| "The Equity and Inclusion Campaign is a key example of the unprecedented opportunity for Louisiana and the Gulf Coast Region. The Campaign, for me, has helped take away the fear of advocacy and has instilled in me the right to 'speak up,' to organize, and to contribute to determining the future of my community." |
Courtney Howell
Bayou Grace Community Services
Chauvin, LA |
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| "The Equity and Inclusion Campaign has been important in helping organizations build advocacy capacity and in helping those of us in those organizations appreciate just how much we can do. It has given many organizations throughout the Gulf Coast the opportunity to work together on advocacy issues so that our voices can, through unity, become strong. " |
Linda Santi
Neighborhood Housing Services
New Orleans, LA |
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| " I see the Equity and Inclusion Campaign as a great opportunity for the grassroots to have a voice that will actually be heard by Congress and the administration that can lead to policies that support the common good as opposed to special interest.
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S. Judith Smits
The Quest for Social Justice
Mobile, AL |
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