Gregg Stafford is the beloved New Orleans trumpet player, community leader and co-founder of the Black Men of Labor social aid and pleasure club. Here Mr. Stafford talks about the importance of Charity Hospital in his own life, and the life of his City of New Orleans. Charity is "where I took my first breath of life," he says. "We're trying to rebuild the city and a lot of people need Charity Hospital to reopen." See the full video here.
Community Voices
Over the last century, Charity Hospital has become more than the city's largest and most critical medical facility – it has become a cultural landmark and an icon of our collective memory. Lower Mid-City is an historic neighborhood, with many 19th-century Victorian homes showcasing classic New Orleans architecture but it too is more than just a section of the city with buildings from a long time ago - it's a community of neighbors. The debate over the hospital proposal that would abandon Charity Hospital and demolish Lower Mid-City isn't just about policy, it's about people. This is a collection of their stories, memories, reflections, and demands.
Tom Piazza is the New Orleans-based author of 
New Orleans native Gayle Ruth restored her home after Hurricane Katrina but now may lose it to the wrecking ball if the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University go forward with a plan to use the Mid-City neighborhood for the site of their new hospitals. These hospitals would needlessly destroy the historic neighborhood around Charity Hospital where residents have been rebuilding and restoring their community since Hurricane Katrina. Learn more at 
Wallace Thurman is a military veteran and homeowner who will lose the home he was born in to the wrecking ball if the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University go forward with a plan to use the Mid-City neighborhood for the site of their new hospitals. These hospitals would needlessly destroy the historic neighborhood around Charity Hospital where residents have been rebuilding and restoring their community since Hurricane Katrina. Learn more at 
Kevin Krause came to New Orleans as an Americorps volunteer following Hurricane Katrina, and ended up moving there -- and rehabilitating a home in Mid-City. If the VA and LSU go forward with a plan to use the Mid-City neighborhood for the site of their new hospitals, his home will be torn down. These hospitals would needlessly destroy the historic neighborhood around Charity Hospital where residents have been rebuilding and restoring their community since Hurricane Katrina. Learn more at 
Diana Monely has worked for the city of New Orleans for 30 years and lived in her Mid-City home for 35, but now will lose her house if the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University go forward with a plan to use the Mid-City neighborhood for the site of their new hospitals. These hospitals would needlessly destroy the historic neighborhood around Charity Hospital where residents have been rebuilding and restoring their community since Hurricane Katrina. Learn more at 
A year and a half after receiving $45,000 in preservation grants from the state of Louisiana, Bobbi Rogers is faced with having her home demolished... by the state of Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University plan to use the Mid-City neighborhood for the site of their new hospitals, needlessly destroying the historic neighborhood around Charity Hospital where residents have been rebuilding and restoring their community since Hurricane Katrina. 
