Billy Goes to the Gulf

LA Gulf Response (LAGR)

LA Gulf Response is a coordinated effort between several non-profit or governmental conservation and environmental organizations: Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy. Together their organizations have made a significant commitment to the restoration of coastal Louisiana reflected by their established body of work in this region. They are combining efforts and experience to implement an effective volunteer response and make a real difference in the BP Oil Spill recovery efforts.

St. Bernard Project (SBP)

The mission of the St. Bernard Project is to create housing opportunities so that Hurricane Katrina survivors can return to their homes and communities. SBP carries out its mission through rebuilding houses, their Center for Wellness and Mental Health to help psychologically rebuild Katrina victims, and their Senior Housing Program for seniors in need of housing.

SBP’s proposed solutions to the disaster in the Gulf are to expand mental health services and create jobs. They are doing this by conducting training and providing support for a Peer-to-Peer wellness and counseling program using a model that was effective post 911 in NYC; providing 42 additional clinical hours of free licensed mental health and wellness services at their Center for Wellness and Mental Health; replicating their Center for Wellness and Mental Health in Lower St. Bernard and in Plaquemines Parish and providing at least 70 clinical hours each week in each location; hiring wives and family members of fishermen to conduct community outreach and referral services.

Phone: (504) 277-6831

Hope Community Development Agency (HCDA)

Hope Community Development Agency supports the individuals, families, small businesses, and neighborhoods of Mississippi. HCDA serves as a full community development agency, focusing on affordable housing, community organizing, economic development and relationship building.

Phone: (228) 435-7180

Institute for Marin Mammal Studies (IMMS)

Created in 1984, the mission of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies is for the purposes of public education, conservation and research of marine mammals in the wild and under human care. IMMS promotes public awareness of marine conservation issues through its involvement in the community and encourages the public to be good stewards of the environment. IMMS is the premier stranding organization in the Mississippi-Louisiana-Alabama region of the Gulf Coast with the capability and expertise to care for sick and injured marine mammals.

IMMS has established a Deep Water Oil Spill Donation Fund to help with the animal rescue efforts in the Gulf. Rescuers from the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies are working to rescue any marine mammals or sea turtles that may be compromised by the spill.

Phone: (228) 896-9182