Community Lost

by Angel, Ronald J.; Bell, Holly; Beausoleil, julie; Lein, Laura

• ISBN13: 9781107002951
• ISBN10: 1107002958
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-03-31
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

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 with survivors' long-term needs for employment, affordable housing, and personal records necessary to rebuild lives. Community Lost provides empirical evidence that civil society organizations cannot substitute for an efficient and benevolent state, which is necessary for society to function.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction: In the Shadow of T. H. Marshall û Social Capital, Social Rights, and Sources of Vulnerability among Low-Income and Disadvantaged Groups	p. 1
After the Storm: The State, Civil Society, and the Response to Katrina	p. 17
An Emerging Methodology for a Crisis Situation	p. 34
Life before the Storm: The Old Community	p. 55
Evacuation and Arrival in Austin	p. 80
The Limited Transportability of Social Capital	p. 100
Civil Society, NGOs, and the Grassroots Response	p. 123
Housing, Employment, and Identification	p. 150
Health Care and the Limitations of Civil Society	p. 172
The State, Civil Society, and the Limitations of Social Capital	p. 192
Bibliography	p. 211
Index	p. 235
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