In Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in Haiti, thousands displaced by the January 12 earthquake are living in crowded tent cities with little more than blankets between them and the sky. Miles away in New Orleans, there are people that know just how they feel.

“While we can’t imagine the epic scale of devastation and death, we’ve learned some painful lessons in our own struggle to recover from the floods that followed Katrina,” Louisiana Justice Institute Co-director Jacques Morial was quoted as saying in an Institute blog post. “And it’s our spiritual responsibility and moral obligation to offer the benefit of our experience, understanding and capacity to help the Haitian people in any way they find useful and appropriate.”

The Justice Institute is one of nearly 40 organizations that have come together to form the Haiti Emergency Village Project. The project aims at using the long-term disaster recovery expertise gained from Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild homes, water, power, telecommunications, and other infrastructure in several Haitian communities.

The first step in the long-term process will begin in a few days when project workers will arrive in Cayes-Jacmel, about 25 miles south of Port-au-Prince. From there, they will deploy to nearby communities to begin distributing sturdy house-like tents, assess local needs, and clear rubble to make way for rebuilding.

Dr. Liesel Ritchie, the Natural Hazards Center’s assistant director for research, will be among the project members rolling up their sleeves for recovery efforts, but she’ll be wearing a research hat, as well. Ritchie will examine how project members come together with community members, but also what the community used to be like before the quake.

“If we can understand what it used to be like, then we can better facilitate recovery,” Ritchie said. “What’s unique about this project is that it’s looking to the long-term from the beginning.”

Although the project focus initially will be on providing temporary shelter and infrastructure, the groundwork is being laid for continued partnerships that will overcome the tendency for temporary shelters to become permanent after the organizations that provided them walk away.

“There’s the possibility that this project could advance these local groups to far beyond where they were in the first place, “ Ritchie said. “Sometimes what we think of as temporary is as good or better than what they had before.”

The project will aim for community-driven rebuilding that respects local customs, culture, and political systems and also takes into account engineering to keep residents safe from earthquakes, hurricanes, and other possible hazards.

For more information on how to support the project financially, visit project partner Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. Those who wish to support this and other Natural Hazards Center research in Haiti should contact Office Manager Diane Smith.