APB: Sign the Gulf Coast Recovery Bill of 2007

From the makers of the video:

Dear Friends,

Tomorrow marks the two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and still there are tens of thousands of families without homes. 30,000 families are scattered across the country in FEMA apartments, 13,000 are in trailers, and hardly any of the 77,000 rental units destroyed in New Orleans have been rebuilt. To share some of these people’s stories, we have put together a short film, “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

During the making of this video, we heard the heartbreaking stories of good people unable to return home. We have heard the story of the Aguilar family who lost their home to the storm and only received $4,000 in payments from their insurance company. We have met Mr. Washington, an 87-year-old man and former carpenter, who owned three homes prior to the storm. He is still living in a FEMA trailer today. And we’ve met Julie, who could have returned to her job and normal life, if the government had opened up the public housing units that she had lived in prior to the storm. You can watch their stories here:

Watch the video: http://whenthesaints.org/

There is something very specific you can do to help. Sign the petition urging the Senate to pass the Gulf Coast Recovery Bill of 2007 (S1668). The bill is expected to come to a vote after Labor Day. Its passage will be an important step toward rebuilding the infrastructure in the Gulf Coast region.

Sign the petition: http://whenthesaints.org/

Please pass the video on and encourage people to sign the petition. It’s important we all support the Gulf Coast region’s right to return home and put the needed resources toward rebuilding these families’ lives.

This All Points Bulletin is thanks to Vikki at Up Popped A Fox who included the link to this video in her comment on yesterday’s pastiche of dispatches. The video was made by Brave New Films and posted at WhenTheSaints.org (here’s the about page).

For those who have the time, resources and/or will for more than a petition (lately that’s only fitfully me, alas), here’s the Common Ground Collective’s How You Can Help page.