On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast area and forever changed the landscape of Southern Louisiana. Since then, the community of Southern Louisiana, the United States, and beyond have been working to rebuild the areas and lives of the thousands of people affected.

The progress in the New Orleans area is slow but ongoing. The population level of the New Orleans area is back to about 70% pre-Katrina levels. This is encouraging; there is however, still years of work to be done. We must get the word out that there is still great need.

There is a massive humanitarian crisis going on right now in our own country. There are literally thousands of people, American citizens, who have been living in FEMA trailers for over two years now. There are thousands more who have been displaced to other cities desperately wanting to come back to their homes. As mid-Feburary, there were 25,162 FEMA trailers still occupied in Louisiana (AP). With an average of 2.5 people per trailer, that means that there are still almost 63,000 people without safe and permanent housing. Thousands more want to return, but have been forced to move away, living in temporary situations elsewhere.

FEMA trailers

FEMA trailers are about half the size of a typical living room. They contain a bathroom, several beds, a kitchen, and a small living area all in this tiny space. We have some families with up to three or four people living in one FEMA trailer. There are some scary statistics about the state of people living in FEMA trailers parks, or areas where there are a large concentration of FEMA trailers.

People living in FEMA trailer parks are 79 times more likely to attempt suicide than the national average. That is not a typo – 79 times more likely. The rate of major depression in FEMA trailer parks is 7 times the national average (npr.org). A majority of these people are good people who were barely getting by before the storm, but have no way of getting back on their feet. Because of the housing shortage in the area, rental prices have risen sharply, putting renting beyond the reach of a lot of good people. Their only current option is to stay stuck in FEMA trailers right where they are. As we continue to rebuild, we can continue to return their lives to normalcy.

Our Mission

We began housing volunteers on our gym floor almost immediately after the storm. The first group of volunteers came from Colonial Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, MO. In the beginning we didn't even have showers to provide, and they came with two shower units from Kansas City and installed our first showers. From there we made a commitment to create a permanent facility to house volunteers who are willing to help rebuild for as long as it takes. We now have a well-equipped wonderful facility where we have housed over 2,500 volunteers since 2005.

We are a small church with a large mission. We are a member of a group called the Northshore Disaster Recovery Inc. There are over 80 members of the group, half of whom are based in the area, the other half around the country. We have all worked together to rebuild almost 400 homes in the Slidell, LA area and are beginning to also work in the city of New Orleans.

We are one of the 11 construction ministries of the group. The group also has agencies that pursue grants, provide case management and social work, and address the needs of distressed individuals from every possible angle. Because the Methodist group in Slidell (UMCOR) manages all cases, screens applicants, and purses grants, we the Presbyterian group are able to focus on construction and do it well. None of the organizations has everything needed to rebuild houses and communities, but together we do.

We generally take houses that have been gutted by another organization and rebuild every aspect of the home, from rewiring to cabinets and trim work, to the point where the families living in the homes can move back in. Because we use mostly volunteer labor, we can rebuild beautiful homes for a fraction of the cost of a new or renovated home. Money for materials generally comes from donations and grants.

Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians, secular groups and countless others all coming together to work for the common goal of rebuilding lives and communities in the New Orleans area.

Northshore Disaster Recovery Statistics (11/10/07)

Total number of volunteers housed: 23450
Volunteer hours logged: 938000
Houses completely rebuilt: 436