“I’ve kind of informally checked out how ACORN over the years, how they’ve helped a lot of people in the city,’’ said Butler, a native of New Orleans.
“I hadn’t really seriously delved into what they actually do, until after the storm, and as I was looking for someone to go in my house and gut and clean it out. I was looking for someone who was licensed, bonded and trustworthy, and I decided to go with ACORN because they work with a lot of people and they do so much to help people who much less fortunate than I am. I’m happy that they’re available to do this.’’
“I am pleased to be working with ACORN to help play a small role in the rebuilding of this wonderful city,” said Dean, in town for the Democratic National Committee and taking time to help gut out a Home with ACORN.
"This is a great opportunity to give back to the New Orleans community. The outpouring of generosity from Americans including New Orleans residents and non-profit organizations has been tremendous and has showed how strong our communities can be when we work together during our times of greatest need.”
“This is something I really wanted to do,” Clinton said the next day on his visit to Baton Rouge, where he met ACORN tax preparers and Katrina survivors at Scotlandville Middle School. “I believe in this. We moved over two million children out of poverty when I was president just with the Earned Income Tax Credit.”
"I support ACORN's efforts to provide much-needed assistance to its members from New Orleans and to thousands of others from across the Gulf Coast region through the ACORN Hurricane Recovery and Rebuilding Fund."
“We saw a need and wanted to help,’’ said Jim Restin, who teaches at-risk children in the Syracuse City School District. “We saw all the great need and saw the great job ACORN was doing on the news, so we decided to come down to help.’’
“EITC gives low income people in our communities what they need most–-the resources to take care of their families and better their lives,” said ACORN President Maude Hurd.
“This year, Katrina survivors are in special need of both good information about the EITC and the funds to help rebuild their lives. We are extremely pleased that we can work with the Clinton Foundation to help displaced families across the country.”
Bullock said, "It is a good sign so many you showed up for this meeting.
It shows ACORN is ready to organize and ready to fight."
“It’s still a shock. All I can think of is it’s not my home….Thank God ACORN is going to gut it out. We’re going to come back and fix it up, and it’s going to be our home again.”
“I wanted so dearly to get back in it…I encourage anyone out there who could assist ACORN with any kind of funds to help low income people such as myself rebuild and revitalize our area.”
“It's been pretty rough for me,'' said Dan Cavalier whose family lived in their house for 26 years. “I have back trouble. They helped me out pretty good. I didn't get any assistance except from ACORN. Somebody told us about ACORN when we were in Arkansas; we got the phone number and got in touch with them. It took about a day or two for them to gut the house. By taking the contaminated furniture and building supplies out, that gives a start to get back in there.''
“I'm a senior citizen and I'm very grateful to ACORN,'' Hall said. “They did more than I expected – took out the bathroom fixture and the ceiling'' which is what she had really wanted, but she hadn't realized “they could do all that.''
“They took everything out – debris, walls, heavy books, fridge, everything. They did an excellent job.''
With her home now gutted, Deidre Thompson said she's on the fast track to move back in within a year. “I just feel like if they hadn't helped me, the house would be still sitting there for a long while until I could come up with a solution.''
"I was thoroughly impressed that the /Washington Post/ put us up on the front page. That means that somebody is listening to us. As we rallied and marched today we saw a lot of media—so we know we were heard.
Hopefully, it is not falling on deaf ears. Hopefully, some constituents will hear our message and bring it back to Congress, so they will do something immediately about our plight."
