Life in a FEMA Trailer Comes to Hartford; Local Activists Urge Sen. Dodd to Speed Gulf Coast Recovery

As part of a national campaign to raise public awareness about the Gulf Coast recovery, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailer is touring Connecticut this weekend to help survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita rebuild their lives and livelihoods. The "KatrinaRitaVille Express" will be visiting Hartford, rallying support among Connecticut residents, and sending a message to U.S. Senator Chris Dodd about the urgency of passing the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act.

"More than 50,000 Mississippi and Louisiana families, survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, still live in toxic trailers like the one I am pulling," said Derrick Evans, executive director of Turkey Creek Community Initiatives in Gulfport, Miss. The visit and rally in Hartford was arranged by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, an international human rights organization based in Cambridge, Mass. UUSC has organized more than 1,000 volunteers to help rebuild homes on the Gulf Coast, and is partnering with Turkey Creek in its reconstruction and advocacy efforts.

What: Public tours of the FEMA trailer, and a lobbying visit to Sen. Dodd's Hartford District Office to press for immediate passage of the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act. The bill has been approved by the House of Representatives but has been stalled for several months in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which Sen. Dodd chairs. The Katrina RitaVille Express will be the site of a rally and march from the First Presbyterian Church, 136 Capitol Ave. to Sen. Dodd's office at 30 Lewis St. A delegation of eight advocates will meet with members of Dodd's staff.

When: Friday, March 28, 2-5 p.m. Media availability beginning at 1 p.m.

Where: First Presbyterian Church, 136 Capitol Ave., Hartford, Conn. The church has organized three groups of volunteers who traveled to the Gulf Coast to help in the rebuilding work. The FEMA trailer will be parked in the church's parking lot during the Friday visit to Hartford.

Note to media: The FEMA trailer will be open to the media for tours, photos, video, and interviews. Derrick Evans, UUSC President Charlie Clements, and others will be available to speak with the media, as well as other Connecticut residents who have traveled to New Orleans and Mississippi to help in the rebuilding and recovery. Interviews can be arranged prior to rally and march, beginning at 1 p.m., or after the visit to Sen. Dodd's office. Contact Dick Campbell at 617-301-4370; 781-337-6463, dcampbell@uusc.org, or Bev Hoffman, 404-556-8171, bevhoffmanjr@aol.com.

The KatrinaRitaVille Express Tour is traveling across the country to raise public awareness of the tremendous need that exists to help survivors of the Gulf Coast hurricanes return to their homes and regain their lives and livelihoods. Prior to the Hartford visit, the FEMA trailer visited Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. On Saturday, March 29, the KatrinaRitaVille Express will be at the Unitarian Church, 10 Lyons Plains Rd., in Westport, Conn., and will be in New York City on Sunday, March 30.

"For more than two years," Derrick Evans said, "mainstream media have been repeating a false and imbalanced narrative that portrays booming casinos, growing tourism, rebuilt petrochemical plants, and expanded transportation infrastructure as beacons of hope for Katrina and Rita survivors."

"The FEMA tour sadly reaffirms the total failure of government agencies at all levels to respond to the needs of the hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents as they try to rebuild their homes and their lives," said UUSC President Charlie Clements. "We can celebrate the accomplishments of many local grassroots organizations and thousands of volunteers from across the country who continue to work tirelessly to help New Orleans residents return to their homes. Now is the time for the federal government, specifically Congress and the president, to step to the plate and begin to do their part in helping those who need help the most."

For more information on the Katrina RitaVille Express Tour, please visit www.krvexpress.org.