Giving Compass' Take:
- Adam Mahoney, at Grist, reports on how a recent Supreme Court ruling has only worsened the eviction crisis for renters in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
- How is the eviction crisis one of the many forms of collateral damage following Hurricane Ida? What are you doing to find ways to offer support equitably and effectively for those experiencing hardships in New Orleans?
- Read about how the long-lasting impacts of hurricanes disproportionately affect BIPOC communities.
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Hurricane Ida has battered one of the poorest regions of the country, driving floodwaters into neighborhoods along the Gulf Coast and those along the Mississippi River in Louisiana. Its winds knocked trees through houses, and its rising waters sent people into their attics where they waited for rescue. Thousands will likely be without shelter for weeks or even months.
A move by the Supreme Court last Thursday could make the struggle to find housing even worse.
Despite a push from community organizations and members of Congress, the conservative court blocked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from enforcing a federal moratorium on evicting renters during the pandemic. In the South, the fight by housing advocates to maintain the eviction ban was undergirded by the knowledge that the states most likely to see evictions were those set to be hit by Hurricane Ida, a storm likely intensified by climate change.
“Climate change is also a housing crisis,” said Andreanecia Morris, executive director of the housing advocacy nonprofit HousingNOLA. “Mother Nature is trying to evict us with cause.”
While natural disasters may uproot families and their homes, landlords have used hurricanes, floods, and other wild weather events as an opportunity to kick renters out. After Hurricane Katrina, thousands of low-income renters in Louisiana and Mississippi faced mass evictions and illegal price gouging. In New Orleans, homelessness rates soared in the following years, as people flocked to the city and helped drive average rental prices up 82 percent.
Hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday, families across the state of Mississippi were given eviction orders through local court systems. This came three days before Hurricane Ida knocked out power and water systems for more than 1 million people across Louisiana and Mississippi.
Read the full article about Hurricane Ida and the eviction crisis by Adam Mahoney at Grist.