New Orleans Home Building Project
Twenty-four Alumni Association volunteers travelled to New Orleans for week-long work projects in January, 2010. Follow their progress through the course of the week on our photo gallery and blog. And check out our Facebook page.
Watch our volunteer video journals of volunteers talking about their experiences (at full size, or click on small images at left).
Friday, January 22, 2010
There was no slacking off on our final day of work in New Orleans! A handful of our volunteers headed off to the Tureaud Elementary School to help landscape a playground build by KaBoom! Through its Operation Playground program, KaBoom! is building safe and fun places for children to play in Gulf Coast communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The rest of our volunteers made a final, bittersweet visit to the homes they’ve been working on. Although it was rewarding to see the progress made in just one short week, it was also sad to leave the homeowners we’d come to know. “I’m happy that our work will get Miss Keyes closer to moving back into her home,” said Charles Paliocha '83. Some tears were shed at the home of Wanda Bailey as our volunteers said goodbye. “I’m going to miss all of y’all,” she said. “I hope you’ll stay in touch with me. This has meant so much!”
The day ended with a “farewell cookout” at the main office for Phoenix of New Orleans. Our alumni volunteers gathered with site managers and AmeriCorps members to share stories of their work projects and the people they’d come to know. “This was one of the hardest working groups we’ve had down here,” said site manager Luke Wylie. “Your guys jumped right in and started getting stuff done.”
To recap our volunteer projects:
In Mid-city
- We removed damaged plaster from walls and ceilings, added insulation and new windows, and installed sheetrock for Miss Keyes.
- New sheetrock was taped, finished with joint compound, and sanded at the home of Ms. Cowart.
- Mulch was added to an elementary school playground built by KaBoom!
In the Lower Ninth Ward
- Insulation and sheetrock was added throughout the home of Wanda & Conrad Bailey.
- Debris and wood boards were cleaned up from Dwayne Johnson’s backyard and the soil was graded to allow for proper drainage.
- Bathroom tile was installed in three different houses.
- A boarded-up home was opened for the first time since Hurricane Katrina and clean-up started for an elderly couple.
- The framework of a final home was reinforced to make it safe for volunteers to start work on the interior.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Today, some of our volunteers were brought to new locations in the
Lower Ninth Ward.
One was a home that has not been opened since Hurricane Katrina hit in
2005. With face masks and gloves, our volunteers entered the home of
an elderly couple who evacuated New Orleans and have been relocated to
Texas. "These folks don't have family in the area that can help them
with the clean-up so they've had no choice but to leave the property
abandoned," said Matt, a site manager from lowernine.org. "If we don't
come in here and help them, they'll lose the property."
Scattered throughout the small house were mementos of a former life – family pictures, children's toys, shoes. Slowly the work began to pull items out of the home and onto the curbside for pick-up. "It's very sad to think that these people have not been able to come back to their home," said Denny Bro '74.
A little further up the road, Dan Kenny '04 was helping to gut the interior of a house to access the structural damage. Tilting ever so slightly to the right, and with light streaming in through holes in the roof, he removed rotted floorboards. "The owner is living with relatives out of state and is managing this work by phone. He calls in every couple of days to see how things are going," said Dan. The work here is far from done. Many houses are boarded-up and uninhabitable, awaiting the help needed to bring their families back.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
One of the real joys that our volunteers are realizing is the special
character of the people of New Orleans. There is a warm and welcoming
nature to the residents of this place that is undeniable.
Each day our volunteers have had an opportunity to meet and speak with the homeowners they are helping. "I was overwhelmed by Miss Keyes," said John Murphy '65. "This little woman in her 80s wearing a French beret comes right up to us and gives each of us a hug and a thank you for the work we're doing for her. Meeting her has just made this whole experience so real and worthwhile." At another of our worksites, Wanda and Conrad Bailey prepared a lunch of jambalaya to feed the volunteers working on their home. "We're renting a place nearby," said Conrad, "and there's no way we could afford to rent, purchase all the materials, and pay for the labor needed to finish our house. Your volunteers are making a big difference for us." A little further down the road, Dwayne Johnson broke out his guitar to serenade the workers while they cleared debris from his backyard.
Upon hearing that our UMass Amherst group is here to help rebuild homes, complete strangers have come up to us to shake hands and offer thanks for helping to rebuild New Orleans.
A truly special moment of recognition and New Orleans hospitality came from fellow alumni living here. Charles Hadley '64, '67G; William Knecht '65; and Keith Liederman '84 hosted a dinner for the alumni volunteers on Wednesday night. In a lovely bed and breakfast overlooking jazz clubs of Frenchman Street, our group was treated to a wonderful Cajun dinner of red beans and rice with chicken and seafood gumbo! After a long day of work, meeting fellow alumni and sharing some of the food, music, and culture of New Orleans was truly a memorable experience.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
With a few more sore muscles and plenty of dirt under their nails, our
volunteers made their way back to the HandsOn Bunk House after their
second day on the job. Although plenty tired, they were enthusiastic
to see progress being made on their worksites.
This evening a special guest awaited them upon their return. Author Christine Allen Ewy paid a special visit to our alumni to talk about her new book, Why People Live in New Orleans. "I was always being asked why I live in New Orleans, with all the environmental challenges and risk of flooding," said Ewy. "That question prompted me to write this book. And I didn't want it to be just my point of view, so I did a lot of research and I interviewed fifty people to get a variety of opinions."
Ewy shared some of the history of New Orleans and the cultural and economic importance of the port city throughout the years. She also imparted the love that residents have for the place and its people. "There is a sense of neighborhood and family here that is very strong. When Katrina hit, our family was dispersed and that's been very hard to handle. It touches me deeply that you've traveled here to help rebuild New Orleans and to bring our family back together. We're all so appreciative!"
Monday, January 18, 2010
Through clouds of dust and debris, our alumni volunteers completed their first day of home building in New Orleans. The work projects, located in Mid-city and the Lower Ninth Ward, varied from tearing down damaged plaster and rotted wood to inserting insulation as part of new construction. For every home that has been repaired on a block, there
are at least one or two homes on either side that remain damaged and
uninhabited.
"Half of the homeowners that we work with have been swindled by disreputable contractors," says Jim Coningsby, director of program development for Phoenix of New Orleans (PNOLA). "When the residents were finally allowed back into their homes, they were so anxious to start repairing that many of them didn't ask to see contractor licenses or building permits. And more often than not, work was done incorrectly, it was not to code, and rarely finished. The people here have lost a lot of time and money."
Much of the work our alumni volunteers are doing consists of removing shoddy repairs and replacing it with sturdy construction. The homeowners pay for the materials and trade labor, but rely heavily on volunteers to complete the work. Some of the homeowners were on site during our first work day to shake hands and express their gratitude. "Putting a face and name with the home we were working on meant a lot," says Bill Welsh '57. "These people have been through so much and then to have their money stolen by a contractor is just inconceivable. It puts a whole new light on why we're here."
Sunday, January 17, 2010
One by one, the Alumni Association volunteers arrive at the HandsOn New Orleans Bunk House. The Victorian home has been renovated as overnight lodging for the hundreds of volunteers that come to New Orleans each year to work on community service projects through the non-profit.
Room after room is filled with bunk beds made of rough plywood. “We fit eight to ten people in each room,” says Lindsay Nash, HandsOn coordinator. “All in all, we can fit about eighty people in the Bunk House. It’s co-ed community-style living with shared facilities and everyone chips in to help prepare meals and clean-up.”
Since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in March 2005, numerous non-profit organizations have mobilized to the address the needs of residents impacted by the storm. HandsOn New Orleans has brought its project management expertise to train and deploy 17,200 volunteers in over 542,000 hours of service.
The Alumni Association group will also work through Phoenix of New Orleans (PNOLA) and lowernine.org. PNOLA was founded by Tulane medical student Paul Ikemire who gathered neighbors and volunteers immediately after the storm to gut and rebuild homes in his community. One year after Katrina, the organization was accepting AmeriCorps sponsored volunteers in the effort and to date, estimates that it has saved area homeowners $2,000,000 in labor costs.
Lowernine.org is dedicated to training residents and volunteers in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Due to its proximity to the Industrial Canal levee breach, this area was one of the hardest hit. Starting with basic training in carpentry and finish work, the organization soon expanded the scope of its work to support other initiatives toward reestablishing the social fabric of this community as well.
by Elena Lamontagne