What role did youth volunteers play after Hurricane Katrina?
Well, I had been in Houston working with a foster youth organization when everything happened in New Orleans and Mississippi. In the aftermath of Katrina, there was a flow of individuals coming down to the Astrodome… What struck me was that young people were some of the first ones there. They were putting the cots down; they were helping to register evacuees and to get people organized. It was all happening amidst the chaos. This was a story that, to my knowledge, wasn’t really being told. Can you explain the idea behind “Hurricane YOUTH”? It [will be a non-profit] to assist youth-led efforts in response to Katrina, and to get their stories told… We want to help organize informal efforts and make them more formal efforts… Is “Hurricane YOUTH” meant to be an ongoing effort? Since the devastation wrought on America by Katrina is of an incomparable scale with regards to previous disasters or wars on American soil since the Civil War, it’s important that the mission stay solely focus
