Dear Commons Community,

AOL News has an interesting feature article today on the decline of the ”under 18” population in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.   The general population of New Orleans has declined by 29 percent since the 2000 census; the population of children below age 18 dropped 43 percent in the 2010 count. In the last decade, New Orleans lost 56,193 children.   “The Greater New Orleans Data Center found that the biggest losses were in neighborhoods with large public housing complexes, …but the decline was citywide. In all, 59 of the city’s 72 neighborhoods lost children”. While there is some reason for optimism as this great city continues to recover from Katrina, the numbers of children that have left surprised if not staggered many of its inhabitants.  As one resident alluded, If New Orleans loses its children, it loses its future.

Tony