Long-Term Community Recovery Progresses: Louisiana Speaks
Release Date: December 6, 2005
Release Number: 1603-203
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- The recent hurricanes in Louisiana have prompted the most extensive initiative ever undertaken in long-term community recovery planning, supported by the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This grassroots process involves planners, architects, engineers and other community development professionals all providing coordination and technical expertise on a parish-by-parish basis to develop a strategic plan for Louisiana's long-term recovery.
The LRA and FEMA will open storefronts in highly-affected parishes by mid-December to encourage citizen input and disseminate information pertaining to the recovery planning process. The public is invited to give feedback on area needs and future recovery suggestions through these storefronts, which will be staffed and open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
After a series of scoping meetings in November, a governmental workshop for recovery planning will take place in many parishes in early December. At this working meeting, local, state and federal government officials will identify needs, barriers and solutions in five recovery categories: environment and coastal; housing; economic development; infrastructure and transportation; and human services.
Public input meetings are scheduled in many parishes, most in January. The goal of these meetings is to engage the public in defining their community recovery vision as well as identifying their critical priorities.
All local input will be rolled up into regional and statewide strategies to help direct state and federal recovery assistance. To encourage citizen participation, an awareness campaign features the theme: "Louisiana Speaks. Our Voice. Our Plan. Our Future."
The Louisiana Recovery Authority is the planning and coordinating body that will assist in implementing the Governor's vision for the recovery of Louisiana. The authority will identify and prioritize the short- and long-term needs of the recovery. The authority will seek out and value local input as it plans and implements the recovery.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 07-Dec-2005 10:05:09