Evacuteer.org is a non-profit organization in the City of New Orleans that recruits, trains, and manages evacuation volunteers (evacuteers) who assist with New Orleans’ public evacuation option. The City Assisted Evacuation Plan (CAEP) activates when a mandatory evacuation is called- the plan is designed to move 25,000-30,000 New Orleanians without available transportation to safe locations in the Southeast United States. The City has successfully implemented the plan once, in advance of Hurricane Gustav (Sept. 2008), when 18,000 residents utilized the CAEP. Evacuteer.org is an organization created out of lessons learned from that experience. Evacuteer.org manages all volunteers who work within the CAEP at 17 neighborhood pick-up points around Orleans Parish, at the Union Passenger Terminal (hereafter UPT) for evacuee processing, and at City Hall to assist with hotline operation. In addition, they have a strong presence in the emergency preparedness community through public art projects and a novel EvacuKids program being rolled out in local schools.
Learn more at the Evacuteer.org homepage or see Anderson Cooper 360’s news story about the organization at the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Living the Dream 