Advocates ask for hurricane relief during Pres. Biden’s visit to Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - While the president’s visit to the Lake Charles was not directly related to hurricanes, some local leaders and advocates are hoping their plea for direct relief is heard.

Mayor Nic Hunter directly addressed the need during his speech.

“I do believe that we can agree on the dire need here in Lake Charles for an infrastructure plan that could build us a new I-10 bridge here in Lake Charles. And I do believe that we could agree on the dire need to support disaster relief here in Louisiana - 252 days post-laura.”

Some local organizations took to the streets, hoping to get the President’s attention. The Vessel Project, Healthy Gulf and The Cajun Navy all holding up signs expressing their frustrations, hoping the president took notice.

“Our mission as Vessel Project and as community members is to do what we can to make sure the needs of our community are at the forefront of the conversation during President Biden’s visit,” said Dominique Darbonne, co-founder of the Vessel Project. “We’re out here for our people, advocating for our federal disaster funds, for insurance companies to pay out, and for our citizens to be able to come home.”

While they all agreed, the I-10 bridge is important, they pointed to other issues affecting the Lake Area.

“No one was here to vote,” says Roishetta Ozane, co-founder for the Vessel Project and local community organizer for Healthy Gulf. “We have so many jobs available here because there is nobody here to work - everybody is gone. If you go to certain parts of town, you can see that the houses are abandoned, and there’s no sort of rebuilding going on. So, we can’t say we’re just frustrated with this president, we’re just frustrated with the way this is handled.”

These groups hoping their message is heard and translated into action

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