Community Lost: The State, Civil Society, and Displaced Survivors of Hurricane Katrina [Hardcover]

Uses interviews with evacuees and service provider reports to analyse the response to the human crisis that was Hurricane Katrina.Hurricane Katrina exposed the limits of both government and private charities in responding to human need. In this study, the authors use extensive interviews with Katrina evacuees and reports from service providers to identify what helped or hindered the reestablishment of the lives of hurricane survivors relocated to Austin, Texas. Drawing on social capital and social network theory, this study assesses the complementary, and often conflicting, roles governmental and non-governmental organizations played in addressing survivors' short- and long-term needs.Hurricane Katrina exposed the limits of both government and private charities in responding to human need. In this study, the authors use extensive interviews with Katrina evacuees and reports from service providers to identify what helped or hindered the reestablishment of the lives of hurricane survivors relocated to Austin, Texas. Drawing on social capital and social network theory, this study assesses the complementary, and often conflicting, roles governmental and non-governmental organizations played in addressing survivors' short- and long-term needs.Neither government programs nor massive charitable efforts responded adequately to the human crisis that was Hurricane Katrina. In this study, the authors use extensive interviews with Katrina evacuees and reports from service providers to identify what helped or hindered the reestablishment of the lives of hurricane survivors who relocated to Austin, Texas. Drawing on social capital and social network theory, the authors assess the complementary, and often conflicting, roles of FEMA, other governmental agencies, and a range of non-governmental organizations in addressing survivors' short- and longer-term needs. While these organizations came together to assist with immediate emergency needs, even collectively they could not deal lö