KIDS COUNT
"Katrina broke our hearts. But it did not break our spirits. We are hurting, but we are recovering," Shannon Johnson, KIDS COUNT coordinator for Louisiana, told people after attending the annual KIDS COUNT conference held in Baltimore a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck.
Johnson works for Agenda for Children, Louisiana's statewide child advocacy organization, which oversees Louisiana's KIDS COUNT project, part of the Foundation's signature effort to track the status of children state by state and produce annual national as well as state data books on the educational, social, economic, and physical well-being of children.
"A major focus of our work in the coming months will be working with our partners to ensure that community voices are included in the rebuilding process," says Johnson. "This is challenging, given the extent of the displacement Katrina has caused. But it is essential if we are to make our city and region a better place for children and families."
Agenda for Children had to relocate from New Orleans to its small branch office in Thibodaux, about an hour outside the city. Although the New Orleans office could now be reoccupied, many staff members have no homes – or severely damaged ones – so they cannot return. Agenda for Children is looking for ways to help these staff members.
At the KIDS COUNT gathering, Johnson urged other state coordinators to help make sure hurricane evacuees get the services they need, from medical care to food stamps, and to pay attention to what happens to them after the headlines fade.
Also attending the conference were staff members from the Mississippi Forum on Children and Families, Mississippi's KIDS COUNT grantee. Their office in Jackson lost electricity and some employees' homes were damaged but not severely. Some staff members have been working temporarily out of mobile units set up in the hard-hit coastal area, focusing on providing child care. They've been issuing emergency certifications of child care vouchers and trying to assess the physical damage and possible staff shortages at child care facilities. They’ve colocated with state employees who are issuing emergency unemployment benefits and signing people up for job training and placement.
The Alabama KIDS COUNT grantee, Voices for Alabama’s Children, based in Montgomery, sustained no damage. But staff members are assessing the long-term needs of residents of the damaged coastal communities. KIDS COUNT staff attending from states as far away as Arizona reported visiting hurricane evacuees in shelters and helping them find clothing and other provisions.
Agenda for Children’s new address is 1047 Jackson Street, Thibodaux, LA, 70301. The telephone number is 985-446-8330 or 800-577-8052; the fax is 985-446-8255.