New Orleans Continued

At the group meetings we always have to say both our high and our low for the week, and this week I have two. The most fun I had was last night seeing Passion Pit at the House of Blues. I don't really know the band that well, but it was one of the best concerts I've ever been too. They had an excellent stage presence, and the energy in the crowd was awesome. The House of Blues itself was also great on its own.

On a more serious note, my other high would be building in New Orleans. I think that it is this experience, maybe not as enjoyable as a concert, that will stick with me and help me better understand this city. Today we worked at the same build site in the eastern part of the city that we've been working at all week.

Our group is split into 3 smaller groups of about 10. The other two groups have had trouble finding places with enough work for them to do. It isn't that there is no stuff that needs to be done, but that with the Episcopal Dioceses of New Orleans the home owners have to provide all the materials needed to fix the house, and instruct the volunteers (to some extent) on what to do. The other houses our group was supposed to be working on I think the homeowners are just at a loss of what needs to be done and what materials need to be provided in order for any progress to be made.

The Episcopal Dioceses of New Orleans used to provide every build site with a instructor and they had a warehouse of materials, but because of budget restraints they've had to cut both of these aspects of the program. These cuts greatly reduce the productivity of the program. It doesn't matter how many able bodied volunteers you have if you don't have the materials of the instruction needed to complete the task at hand. Its just another issue that affects the affordable housing crisis since the people who are utilizing this organization to help them fix their homes do not have the money to supply all the best tools and materials, and also more often then not don't have the knowledge of construction that is needed to refurbish a home.

Yesterday the owner of the home we're working on, Jeffrey, came by to work with us a bit a see what materials we needed. He is a really nice guy who looks like he's probably in his late 20s or early 30s. He grow up in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans, which is a fairly economically deprived area. He said his dad died when he was 11, and then he was raised by his grandmother (who he claims is the best cook in New Orleans).

His story behind why he has asked the Episcopal Dioceses of New Orleans for help is a really sad but hopeful one. He was living with his family in the lower ninth ward until 2005. They had decided to save up and move to the east side of the city to be in a safer neighborhood after one of their twin sons what shot and killed in the lower ninth ward. The boy was only 3, and the shooting was apparently a stray bullet.

Ten days after moving into the house that he owns now, hurricane Katrina hit. Jeffrey and his family left the night before the storm with basically just the clothes on their backs. Because they had only lived in the house for 10 days, the insurance would not pay for any of the damage on their house (I think he said it required the live in the house for 30 days). His family ended up settling in Texas, and he said that he never planned on returning to the city.

However his grandmother hated Texas, and she moved back. He said that she moved into her same house in the lower ninth ward, and that there are still only 3 occupied houses on her block which used to be in a very full and energetic neighborhood. His grandmother was diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer about a year ago, and so his family returned to help look after here (he has a 9 year old son and a 3 year old daughter). Upon returning to the city, he starting trying to fix up the house.

He said that he hated asking for help, but with his and his wife's limited income, paying rent on an apartment, mortgage on a house and being in school (he is getting his bachelors degree in elementary education) he just couldn't fix the house himself or afford to pay someone to do it. It is really a sad, but inspiring story. He has faced so much tragedy in his life, but he still puts on a happy face and works so hard to get what he and his family need. He is so happy that we're here helping him, and we are happy to be here as well.