Southern Solidarity<\/a> prides itself as an anti-imperalist organization saying, \u201c[We are] a grassroots, community-based group of volunteers in solidarity with the unhoused in their quest toward liberation. We organize the delivery of food, medical resources and basic needs directly to the unhoused in the downtown area of New Orleans because the government has not filled this need.\u201d It seems that both Southern Solidarity and Santosuosso agree that the government fails to step in, forcing the community to recover on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe feeling of frustration and hopelessness from your own government is definitely there,\u201d says Santosuosso. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of frustration that the news doesn\u2019t show. People are tired, but these struggles bring communities together. I have homies that have small restaurants and instead of throwing away their food, they just started cooking it for everyone so it didn\u2019t go to waste and they could give back straight to the community. Stuff like that is what\u2019s really going on and what we see happening in New Orleans — that\u2019s what makes me love being here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was important to Santosuosso that he work with a local organization like Southern Solidarity. He trusts that they\u2019ll be able to get the job done saying, \u201cThey\u2019re on the ground and in the community within our own city. When you get to a lot of these bigger organizations, they have to use that money across the board and sometimes you don\u2019t know if that money goes directly to your community. I wanted to give back to someone that is actually on the ground doing stuff actively in our own backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After taking a fall during a skate trip in Oakland this past week, Santosuosso had to go into emergency surgery to repair his arm. His injury has gotten in the way of his return to New Orleans, but he has big plans for more hurricane relief initiatives when he gets back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy goal is that once the lights are up, probably in about a week or two, I\u2019m going to get as many new clothes as possible and set up a day for families to come through and get some free stuff and personally be in the community, handing out product to anybody that possibly needs it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Santosuosso is also working with local New Orleans photographer, Akasha Rabut<\/a>, to put together a treasure chest of items including exclusive prints and sneakers to raffle off. Once the city is more stable and the electricity is back up, you\u2019ll be able to go to Humidity\u2019s website<\/a> and purchase a raffle ticket, which will continue to raise funds for Hurricane Ida relief. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIn the meantime, place your bid on Phillip Santosuosso\u2019s eBay listing<\/a> or visit southernsolidarity.org<\/a> to donate directly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hurricane Ida poured down on the city of New Orleans this past Sunday, August 29, 2021. It was the 16th…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328355,"featured_media":1002572,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
eBay Sneaker Auction Raises Money for Hurricane Ida Relief | Snkrs Day<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n