Two weeks ago (sorry I am behind on posts! More to come in the next few days!) we gave our tushes a break from our saddles and got down to building (or rebuilding rather) in New Orleans. We worked with an organization called the St. Bernard Project. SBP assists residents from industrious, working class neighborhoods in St. Bernard and Orleans Parish neighborhoods including Chalmette, Violet, Meraux, Gentilly, the Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans East and the 7th Ward.
For many residents SBP assists, their savings were tied to their homes. In the years before Katrina, insurance companies rezoned St. Bernard and areas of New Orleans out of the flood plain, so most residents no longer has flood insurance after decades of paying for it. When Katrina hit, the people of St. Bernard and New Orleans lost everything. All but eight of the 27,000 homes in St. Bernard Parish and 80 percent of the 250,000 homes in New Orleans were flooded and rendered uninhabitable.
I visited New Orleans last summer, but staying in the 9th Ward this time around the lasting impact of Hurricane Katrina was far more apparent. The spray paint of rescue workers still marks many houses while others appear wholly abandoned since the 2005 storm.
Our efforts for the week focused on putting the finishing touches on the restoration of a Katrina-destructed house in the lower 9th Ward. The house belongs to a NOLA native by the name of Oliver. He is 65 years old, disabled, and recently retired.
My team (Allison, Marta, and I) installed base boards and shoe molding, did a bunch of caulking, and –what was most satisfying- put in a hard wood floor! Once us Bike and Builders closed up shop on our 5th work day, just short of a week of work on the house remained.
He met with us on our last day of building to express his
gratitude and share his story. Oliver’s parents had lived in New Orleans all of
their lives and never left the city for any hurricane. It was when his parents
decided to evacuate for Katrina that Oliver first realized that perhaps Katrina
wasn’t your average Gulf Coast hurricane. Oliver and his family evacuated to
Houston as his New Orleans house filled with 11 feet of water. Toxic flood water sat in Oliver’s house
for 8 weeks before residents of his neighborhood were allowed back in.
Oliver’s house has been inhabitable since 2005. The incredible financial burden of rebuilding a house, a series of construction frauds (an unfortunate commonplace in post-Katrina New Orleans), and his physical disabilities have prevented Oliver from restoring his home. Thanks to the work of the St. Bernard Project, Oliver will be able to move back home in a week’s time—nearly 8 years after the Katrina disaster.
For many residents SBP assists, their savings were tied to their homes. In the years before Katrina, insurance companies rezoned St. Bernard and areas of New Orleans out of the flood plain, so most residents no longer has flood insurance after decades of paying for it. When Katrina hit, the people of St. Bernard and New Orleans lost everything. All but eight of the 27,000 homes in St. Bernard Parish and 80 percent of the 250,000 homes in New Orleans were flooded and rendered uninhabitable.
I visited New Orleans last summer, but staying in the 9th Ward this time around the lasting impact of Hurricane Katrina was far more apparent. The spray paint of rescue workers still marks many houses while others appear wholly abandoned since the 2005 storm.
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| TFW stands for toxic flood water. The 0 means that no bodies were found in this house. |
My team (Allison, Marta, and I) installed base boards and shoe molding, did a bunch of caulking, and –what was most satisfying- put in a hard wood floor! Once us Bike and Builders closed up shop on our 5th work day, just short of a week of work on the house remained.
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| Before |
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During After!  |
Oliver’s house has been inhabitable since 2005. The incredible financial burden of rebuilding a house, a series of construction frauds (an unfortunate commonplace in post-Katrina New Orleans), and his physical disabilities have prevented Oliver from restoring his home. Thanks to the work of the St. Bernard Project, Oliver will be able to move back home in a week’s time—nearly 8 years after the Katrina disaster.
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The week we were in NOLA another SBP recipient was being welcomed back into his restored house. We were able to attend the welcome home party.
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