BP Oil Settlement Grants Will Pay for Health, Mental Health Services on Gulf Coast

From the Times-Picayune

Health care services in southeastern Louisiana will get a major share of the $104 million in grant money included in the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement, according to papers filed in federal court on Thursday. The grants, expected to cover five years of services, include $50 million for a Primary Care Capacity Project to expand and improve access to health care in underserved coastal communities, $36 million for behavioral and mental health needs, and $4 million to train community health workers. Another $15 million will be used to expand environmental health expertise and literacy.

It was standing room only on January 11, 2011, during an emotionally charged meeting over oil spill claims at the Lafitte Community Center in Jean Lafitte.

BP also will finance the creation of an online library of information about the spill.

The Primary Care project will be led by the New Orleans-based Louisiana Public Health Institute, a nonprofit focusing on improving health care access through public-private partnerships, foundations, academia, community groups and private businesses; and the New Orleans-based Alliance Institute, a nonprofit aimed at providing residents with the tools to participate in public institutions.

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A Gulf Coast Organizer at the Nobel Peace Summit

Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Stephen BradberryBy Stephen Bradberry, Alliance Institute

This past week I had the unparalleled honor of attending the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. There were some 20 Laureates on hand, high school students from across the Chicago Public School System, a gang of celebrities and a who’s who of entrepreneurs and other players on the world stage.

After two days of panels, meetings and mingling, I was left with two important take-aways – real change comes from the efforts of an organized group of individuals and the overwhelming need for the masses to rethink their own economics. Trust me, not all were focused on these things, but that’s what I got out of the event.

Lech Walesa of Poland, stood out for me, as organizing took him from being an electrician to the Presidency of his country, toppling communism along the way. The motto for the event, “Speak Up, Speak Out” seemed to reflect Walesa’s life story, and was echoed again and again throughout the event. Jody Williams, who won the award in 1997 for her work to ban landmines pointed out that although she and other individuals have been honored the work was that of many working together.

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One Gulf, Resilient Gulf

As part of the ongoing fight for justice following the BP disaster, Alliance Institute has been at the forefront of assuring that residents of the gulf coast region have a voice in the federal decisions being made for recovery. Partnering with the Gulf Coast Fund and the Gulf Restoration Network, Alliance Institute helped to sponsor two trips to Washington DC to push for local considerations, as put forth in the document "One Gulf, Resilient Gulf," to be included in the conversations around the Restore Act – a piece of legislation that would direct 80% of Clean Water Act fines to the states of the Gulf Coast for recovery efforts. On April 18, 2012 the House of Representatives followed the Senate in passing the legislation. The fight is not over, as we must now clear the White House.

Speaking on Community Organizing, Human Rights and Disaster Recovery in Italy

Alliance Institute Executive Director, Stephen Bradberry was invited to the Tuscany region of Italy to speak on community organizing, human rights, and disaster recovery. During the trip, Mr. Bradberry addressed students and staff at Campus Lucca, to discuss human rights and tourism; participated in radio panel discussion as part of Human Rights Tuesday Nights on the topic of The Role of Community Organizers following Ecological Disasters; and a presentation on the power of community organizing with students, mayors and others as a guest of the Fortnightly Foundation Savings Bank of La Spezia.  Following the presentation, there has been follow up to see if the Alliance Institute can follow up with lessons for the Prefect to better engage residents following disasters such as floods and earthquakes.