Safe but not sound. That's what some people had to say tonight about the New Orleans assisted evacuation program in the days and hours leading up to -- and following hurricane Gustav.

On Wednesday evening, about 100 residents shared their stories hoping to bring about change.

"Everybody's story is necessary to tell the whole story," said Dr. Mtangulizi Sanyika,

Project Manager for the African American Leadership Project.

In the wake of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the New Orleans based African American Leadership Project is working to gather data on the evacuation experiences of the city's most vulnerable, including the thousands of low income residents who had no choice but to rest on the city's shoulders when it came to evacuating New Orleans.

"We rely on the government because we're poor it's not a thing that we wants to be poor it's just a fact of life," said New Orleans resident Keith Hudson.

About 30,000 people used the city's assisted evacuation program pre-Gustav, a system initially praised tonight by members of the leadership project.

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"I applaud the city's plan because it worked," said Sanyika.

But it's what happened once residents were transported outside the city limits that some are now taking issue with.

"What that plan did not focus on and nor did any of us, is what was going to happen at the other end of the process," said Sanyika.  "We didn’t ask the question of the quality of the shelters, we didn't ask the question well once we are gone how long can we afford to stay out."

Those who assisted evacuees in the hours and days following Gustav also shared their stories and their suggestions in improving communication between non-profit groups and city government.

"There were a lot of people trying to do different things," said Happy Johnson, a relief worker with the group The Blanket of New Orleans.  "But not everyone knew what those groups were doing and there were a lot of questions we weren't able to answer."

Over the next 90 days, the Leadership Project hopes to develop a comprehensive report based on the experiences of evacuees, all in hopes of handing over the information to the Nagin administration and the New Orleans City Council.

"We have many staff persons present on behalf of the mayors office who will be documenting who will be receiving information and then that will be incorporated into lessons learned and improved protocols," said Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis.

Members of the leadership project plan on asking the city to create an evacuation commission---made up of residents, elected officials, and members of area non profit groups---who would monitor the evacuation process in order to submit suggestions for improvement.