Resilience and determination
Gulf Coast organizations defending worker and immigrant rights in the aftermath of Katrina
Since the first days after hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, Oxfam America has endeavored to help the people of the region achieve a full and equitable recovery. In 2007, Oxfam's Gulf Coast Equity Program began its Worker and Immigrant Rights Initiative, which was created to address a growing social catastrophe: the exploitation and abuse of immigrant workers laboring in the massive reconstruction effort. Three years later, as the Worker and Immigrant Rights Initiative is ending, the program is taking stock of its accomplishments and celebrating the many local and state organizations that have achieved so much. This publication shares the strategies that drove the Worker and Immigrant Rights Initiative as well as the program's highlights and achievements.