"One year later there are some signs of progress but also evidence that we have a long way still to go. Thousands remain dislocated. Employment is still far below pre-Katrina levels and many essential services-including public transportation, schools and hospitals- haven't recovered fully," said Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.

In the first six months after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans lost nearly 280,000 residents - 64 percent of its population, according to the report. The hardest-hit neighborhoods - St. Bernard and Orleans parishes - sustained population losses of 95 percent and 64 percent, respectively. The percentage of African Americans in the city fell from 36% to 21%.

Roughly 41% of Katrina evacuees are still displaced from their homes, and an estimated 278,000 of them are in the workforce, and 23 percent are unemployed. This compares to 4.2 percent for New Orleanians still living in homes they had before Katrina.

Demolition activity in Orleans and Jefferson parishes has increased dramatically in the past six months from no activity to 300 tear-downs, while building permit activity has surged 177 percent. Rent for 1-bedroom apartments is 39% higher than before the storm, and the number of households in trailers hit 114,000, 28% more than six months ago, the report found.

A full year later, public services and infrastructure are still substandard: Less than half the bus and streetcar routes are operational, while only 41 percent of homes have gas service. Less than one-third of public schools and half of the city's major hospitals are open.

After the storm hit, the National Urban League unveiled its Katrina Bill of Rights. It called for: 1) the Right to Recover; 2) the Right to Return; 3) the Right to Rebuild; 4) the Right to Work; and 5) the Right to Vote. Since then, the league has vigorously fought for the protection and advancement of these rights through legislative advocacy, program activity and public education.

While important legislation has been enacted and funding approved, several critical measures have yet to be passed, and the needs of Katrina victims and the Gulf Coast region have been eclipsed by other funding priorities.

The $128 billion in aid and tax relief to assist the devastated Gulf Coast is far less than the cost of tax cuts for 2005 alone -- $225 billion -- and the cost of military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan -- $357 billion (as of October, 2005).

Among other recommendations, the National Urban League report urges the federal government to:

1. Establish an independent commission much like the one created after 9/11 to figure out what went wrong
2. Facilitate the return of evacuees by ensuring the reestablishment and availability of schools and essential services and by providing long-term federal housing assistance
3. Expand eligibility for Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit and food stamps to assist evacuees in reestablishing their lives
4. Redirect Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs) to the City of New Orleans to administer to ensure that funds reach those in need quickly
5. Disallow rebuilding plans that deny the right of citizens to return to their neighborhoods
6. Provide funding for enhanced human services - including health care, mental health counseling, job training assistance and family reunification services -- for those who return.
7. Make Gulf Coast residents and firms first priority for jobs and contracts relating to the rebuilding process
8. Conduct a detailed analysis to identify areas of future economic growth in the region
9. Ensure full voting rights of displaced citizens who intend on returning to New Orleans
10. Continue the availability of satellite voting

Shortly after Katrina hit, Urban League affiliates in Atlanta, Birmingham, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Oklahoma City and many others were on the ground running to the aid of those affected. A total of nearly 30,000 hurricane victims have been helped through a wide range of services and assistance.

In Birmingham, Katrina evacuees received vouchers at J.C. Penney to purchase the proper clothing for interviewing. In Dallas, housing counselors were dispatched to motels and hotels where hurricane victims were lodged to perform needs assessments. Evacuees were also helped with FEMA registration and provided housing assistance as well as basic items such as toiletries, clothes and gas vouchers. The Houston affiliate created family-to-family support networks in which Katrina-affected families are adopted by faith-based entities or Greek organizations until they are back on their feet. In Oklahoma City, hurricane evacuees were driven to Wal-Mart to buy new clothes or to the Laundromat. Local affiliates in the region sprang to action to help on so many levels.

In October, the National Urban League also established the Katrina Fund, whose major donors include Freddie Mac, Citigroup, The Prudential Foundation, the Citizens Charitable Foundation and others. And since then, $2.88 million has been spent of $3.4 million raised to help the Gulf Coast region.

"We must renew our call upon all levels of government and all sectors of our society to make good on its pledge to ensure that we rebuild this national treasure in a way that lives up to our nation's highest ideals," Morial said. For a copy of the legislative policy report click here, for an update of Urban League program activities regarding Katrina click here
To schedule an interview with Mr. Morial, contact Ricky Clemons at 212-558-5371.