Last night Terry Burton, a 71 year old resident of the Lower Ninth Ward and Common Grounds volunteer, was shot and killed by the military police. The details are not clear, but the basic story is that he was confronted by the MPs, the local cops got involved, Terry became belligerent and threw a bottle at a cop, and the MPs shot him half a dozen ( Read more... )

the volunteers at common grounds are inspiring. some of them are 9th ward residents who have been living and volunteering here since katrina, many are long-term volunteers from all over, and hundreds are college students here on their spring break. most of us wake up at 6:30, but a fe handfuls of volunteers get up at 4am to cook breakfast or at ( Read more... )

On the way from Biloxi to New Orleans, I decided to stop into the town of Pass Christian - near where the eye of the storm hit - to see the damage there ( Read more... )

If anyone is looking for a good organization to support please check out Turkey Creek Community Initiative

My new schedule is two weeks in New Orleans (I'm leaving tomorrow), then two more weeks back in Gulfport!


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Hands on Gulf Coast (HOGC) is working to rebuild the historically black, working class community of East Biloxi (like Biloxi's midtown Jackson in many ways). HOGC is doing a lot-running a volunteer center of 30 to 70 people, housing, feeding, and organizing the long and short-term volunteers into daily work groups. They are doing good work. That ( Read more... )

After a year of the “real world” in New York city, I’m happy to be setting out in my inherited 1993 Ford carrying my 1.5 person-tent, my brother’s hammy-down bike, a box of clothes, a deck of cards, and occasionally a couple of friends for a year of working, traveling, and volunteering across the country.

If all goes as planned, the coming months ( Read more... )