After flubbing up mightily telling people all summer that I was going to New Orleans and going to Kenya instead I finally got to the Big Easy on December 3rd. It was about a 40 minute ride from the airport to the volunteer housing in St Bernard Parish and I was pretty pooped from a long difficult flight from Nairobi. Over the next week I would learn the who's who of things down here but for the time being I was happy just to be back in the US doing one of the things I had set out to do when I first retired.
Camp Hope
Camp Hope is where volunteers wanting to help with reconstruction in New Orleans can stay if they don't mind sleeping 25 to a room. You can stay for as many or as few days as you like and you're not bound to a particular project once you're there. Room and board cost me $100 a week (it's since gone up to $150) and it's a great way to meet people from all over the country that care enough about their fellow citizens to pick up a hammer and help.
The building itself is a school that was under about 10 feet of water. Habitat is fixing it up so it can accommodate volunteers now and turn it back over to the community as a fully refurbished school in the future. There are local residents who help cook as well as connect volunteers to what's going on in the community.
The whole thing is fenced in with 24-hour security at the gate-house out front. It wasn't so much for the volunteers as it was to guard against the theft of tools and equipment. New Orleans was a pretty wild place before the flood and the recovery has brought out both the best and the worst in people.
The building itself is a school that was under about 10 feet of water. Habitat is fixing it up so it can accommodate volunteers now and turn it back over to the community as a fully refurbished school in the future. There are local residents who help cook as well as connect volunteers to what's going on in the community.
The whole thing is fenced in with 24-hour security at the gate-house out front. It wasn't so much for the volunteers as it was to guard against the theft of tools and equipment. New Orleans was a pretty wild place before the flood and the recovery has brought out both the best and the worst in people.
Habitat New Orleans
Habitat for Humanity was pretty well known before Katrina thanks to the participation of former president Jimmy Carter. After the storm, as the government's response floundered, they became the organization that was getting things done and grew exponentially. But they also realized that they needed to make some adjustments. So while Katrina led to dramatic growth, it also changed the organization in some significant ways.
Habitat was always and remains a faith-based organization. They welcome all people of all beliefs but their original program was confined to two-parent families. This was not going to fly. Single parent families make up enough of the population of the city that it was going to create far more problems than it solved in determining who got a house and who didn't. The other difference was land. Many people who lost their homes still had their land so that had to be taken into account when figuring out which sites to build one, how to make them work and what the financial package was going to look like.
Habitat has always been good at creating payment plans that are fair, that give the homeowner a stake in their house and cut out enough of the expense to be affordable. This is what made them as effective as they are and it's why their model has been duplicated successfully in so many places. It also helped that they had a well established chapter in New Orleans before Katrina which helped them navigate some of the trickier parts of the recovery.
Habitat was always and remains a faith-based organization. They welcome all people of all beliefs but their original program was confined to two-parent families. This was not going to fly. Single parent families make up enough of the population of the city that it was going to create far more problems than it solved in determining who got a house and who didn't. The other difference was land. Many people who lost their homes still had their land so that had to be taken into account when figuring out which sites to build one, how to make them work and what the financial package was going to look like.
Habitat has always been good at creating payment plans that are fair, that give the homeowner a stake in their house and cut out enough of the expense to be affordable. This is what made them as effective as they are and it's why their model has been duplicated successfully in so many places. It also helped that they had a well established chapter in New Orleans before Katrina which helped them navigate some of the trickier parts of the recovery.
Dramatis Personae
Americorps (Full-Time). These were Americorps volunteers who were spending their full year working on Habitat construction projects. They train by actually building a house from the ground up so they can see every single phase and facet of a Habitat 'build'.
Americorps (Six-Weeks). These volunteers, usually organized in teams, spend six weeks on a project and then move on to another one, sometimes in Gulf Coast reconstruction in another location, sometimes a different project altogether.
Habitat Staff. These were people who often had extensive construction experience and had even run their own companies working directly for Habitat.
Camp Hope Staff. These are the first folks you meet when you walk through the door and while they work for Habitat their job is to feed and house everybody rather than organize.
Americorps (Six-Weeks). These volunteers, usually organized in teams, spend six weeks on a project and then move on to another one, sometimes in Gulf Coast reconstruction in another location, sometimes a different project altogether.
Habitat Staff. These were people who often had extensive construction experience and had even run their own companies working directly for Habitat.
Camp Hope Staff. These are the first folks you meet when you walk through the door and while they work for Habitat their job is to feed and house everybody rather than organize.
It took me a while to get a handle on all this. The first morning was a blizzard of activity where everyone was rushing around eating breakfast, making their lunch and getting organized to go to their worksite. In addition to the above groups there were about half a dozen volunteer groups making for a dizzying alphabet soup of organizations each with their own T-Shirt.
After a few days I started to figure it out. Unfortunately it tended to get messy n the job site when it came to who was in charge of what. Americorps team leaders didn't have the kind of expetise or problem solving ability as the full time Habitat staff. Even their people skills were a work in progress. For most of them this was a new experience and making a workplace function is a skill that takes time. To be fair, it's a pretty tall order to try and build something with a work crew that is constantly changing. For those of us on the crew it was never clear who to talk to if we wanted to make suggestions. And for those with construction skills it often took a couple of days to figure out how to get matched up with the jobs that most needed them.
Eventually I realized that none of these things are ever perfect. The fact remains that people care enough to try and help their fellow citizens and it's a great coming together of people who want to make a difference.
After a few days I started to figure it out. Unfortunately it tended to get messy n the job site when it came to who was in charge of what. Americorps team leaders didn't have the kind of expetise or problem solving ability as the full time Habitat staff. Even their people skills were a work in progress. For most of them this was a new experience and making a workplace function is a skill that takes time. To be fair, it's a pretty tall order to try and build something with a work crew that is constantly changing. For those of us on the crew it was never clear who to talk to if we wanted to make suggestions. And for those with construction skills it often took a couple of days to figure out how to get matched up with the jobs that most needed them.
Eventually I realized that none of these things are ever perfect. The fact remains that people care enough to try and help their fellow citizens and it's a great coming together of people who want to make a difference.
Musicians Village
This is the Habitat project that has received the most attention nationally, taking a two and a half block area in the Upper Ninth Ward that was completely leveled and setting it aside for some of the people that make New Orleans what it is. Even if you're not crazy about New Orleans music, it's fun to be in a city where music matters this much. Musicians' Village is a recognition of this and showed a lot of people nationally that Habitat gets it.
St Bernard Project
This has nothing to do with Habitat. The St Bernard project is focused on salvaging homes in St Bernard Parish that were not destroyed in the aftermath of Katrina. It's a bit more controversial since it involves restoring an area that is not only downriver but of little economic value to the city. Fixing existing homes is also a lot more problematic and pretty much outside of what Habitat normally does. Still, many of the long term volunteers at Camp Hope have gotten involved with it partly out of good-heartedness but also to try and reach out and help our neighbors in St Bernard. It's not as big as Habitat but in a way it's nicer to work with fewer people and get to the know the homeowner more directly.
Brad Pitt's Kingdom of Pink
This REALLY has nothing to do with Habitat but it's an interesting project nonetheless. It helps raise money to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward, uses environmentally responsible construction methods and materials and attempts to call attention to the plight of the Lower Ninth. No one who watched Babel will be surprised to see Brad trying to integrate things that are completely unrelated. While all of the things he's trying to do are pretty sensible, it's hard not to get a little confused trying to figure out what this Christo-esque art project next to the Mississippi River has to do with putting the Lower Ninth back together.
What is clear is that the Lower Ninth got screwed several times over. These were homes that had been in families for multiple generations. The neighborhood was home to a vibrant and stable community of color that had deep roots in the city. The Mardi Gras indians were all from the Lower Ninth. As one New Orleans shopkeeper explained to me, New Orleans is a true melting pot because it's a smaller city. While New York is a city of enclaves, New Orleans is a city where the races come together more often. She went on to explain how most of them lived paycheck to paycheck and the flood hit just before payday and most of them didn't even have enough to catch a bus out of town.
Another Ninth Ward resident was almost in tears telling me how much the old neighborhood meant to him and how after failing to protect it from the river the government was trying to pretend it never existed by turning it into green space. For the Lower Ninth, the hits just keep on coming.
So in that context, trying to bring attention to the neighborhood and stepping in before the government or the developers do is more cagy than it looks at first glance. Granted, solar power and green construction materials are irrelevant to people who have lost their home and their sense of place but overall the project is worth a look.
What is clear is that the Lower Ninth got screwed several times over. These were homes that had been in families for multiple generations. The neighborhood was home to a vibrant and stable community of color that had deep roots in the city. The Mardi Gras indians were all from the Lower Ninth. As one New Orleans shopkeeper explained to me, New Orleans is a true melting pot because it's a smaller city. While New York is a city of enclaves, New Orleans is a city where the races come together more often. She went on to explain how most of them lived paycheck to paycheck and the flood hit just before payday and most of them didn't even have enough to catch a bus out of town.
Another Ninth Ward resident was almost in tears telling me how much the old neighborhood meant to him and how after failing to protect it from the river the government was trying to pretend it never existed by turning it into green space. For the Lower Ninth, the hits just keep on coming.
So in that context, trying to bring attention to the neighborhood and stepping in before the government or the developers do is more cagy than it looks at first glance. Granted, solar power and green construction materials are irrelevant to people who have lost their home and their sense of place but overall the project is worth a look.
Gulf Coast Habitat
Biloxi Mississippi is a very different place from New Orleans with a very different Katrina story to tell. It's also a place very eager for people to get the facts straight.
The damage in New Orleans was caused not so much by the storm but by the failure of the levees. Biloxi got the full wrath of the storm. While New Orleans was the focus of national attention with its higher profile and its racial issues and endemic corruption, Biloxi was largely ignored. In New Orleans the Lower Ninth got screwed six different ways. In Biloxi, everyone got screwed when insurance companies decided that the damage was caused by flooding and therefore not covered. Never mind that the storm surge was part and parcel of the storm, the insurance companies bailed and got away with it.
In the wake of the storm, casinos that were legal offshore persuaded the state to allow them to build onshore and snapped up all of the prime beach-front real estate. Outside of town along the coast it's a mixed bag. Some homes survived. Some have been fixed up. Others are a still a wreck and some were swept away completely leaving nothing but an empty lot. Services are still a mess, crime is rampant and the economy as a whole has yet to get back to normal.
Habitat in Biloxi is a much more churchly affair. It's an inter-faith Christian organization to begin with but being on Salvation Army property seems to have stiffened their spine. While they paid lip-service to respecting everyone's beliefs they lovde to pray a lot and gave the rest of us no choice but to participate in something we didn't believe in. Not exactly treating others as you would wish to be treated. Nevertheless, we got through it and except for that it was a fun and productive week.
The other big differences with the Habitat set up were that it was a more rigid schedule. You were there for a full week, assigned to a particular crew and worked with them on the same project all week.
Probably the most unusual feature was that the staff and volunteers are housed in a football stadium. It was originally acquired by the Salvation Army to serve as a community center. As luck would have it they acquired it four days before the storm. After the storm, it became clear that its best use was for housing volunteers. The Salvation Army runs it completely at their own at their own expense.
The week I was there was a pretty busy one as many college groups were still on their Christmas break. I was in a kind of porta-home, bigger than a trailer, smaller than a house.
It's divided into mens and womens housing and each has its own showers and bathrooms.
The damage in New Orleans was caused not so much by the storm but by the failure of the levees. Biloxi got the full wrath of the storm. While New Orleans was the focus of national attention with its higher profile and its racial issues and endemic corruption, Biloxi was largely ignored. In New Orleans the Lower Ninth got screwed six different ways. In Biloxi, everyone got screwed when insurance companies decided that the damage was caused by flooding and therefore not covered. Never mind that the storm surge was part and parcel of the storm, the insurance companies bailed and got away with it.
In the wake of the storm, casinos that were legal offshore persuaded the state to allow them to build onshore and snapped up all of the prime beach-front real estate. Outside of town along the coast it's a mixed bag. Some homes survived. Some have been fixed up. Others are a still a wreck and some were swept away completely leaving nothing but an empty lot. Services are still a mess, crime is rampant and the economy as a whole has yet to get back to normal.
Habitat in Biloxi is a much more churchly affair. It's an inter-faith Christian organization to begin with but being on Salvation Army property seems to have stiffened their spine. While they paid lip-service to respecting everyone's beliefs they lovde to pray a lot and gave the rest of us no choice but to participate in something we didn't believe in. Not exactly treating others as you would wish to be treated. Nevertheless, we got through it and except for that it was a fun and productive week.
The other big differences with the Habitat set up were that it was a more rigid schedule. You were there for a full week, assigned to a particular crew and worked with them on the same project all week.
Probably the most unusual feature was that the staff and volunteers are housed in a football stadium. It was originally acquired by the Salvation Army to serve as a community center. As luck would have it they acquired it four days before the storm. After the storm, it became clear that its best use was for housing volunteers. The Salvation Army runs it completely at their own at their own expense.
The week I was there was a pretty busy one as many college groups were still on their Christmas break. I was in a kind of porta-home, bigger than a trailer, smaller than a house.
It's divided into mens and womens housing and each has its own showers and bathrooms.
The Sugar Bowl
It just wouldn't be a visit to New Orleans if you didn't have a good time. And thanks to Fernwood friend Emily Morrison, I got to go see the 2008 Sugar Bowl on New Year's day at the Superdome. The first thing I noticed was how beautifully fixed up the Superdome is. After being such a symbol of misery and frustration for the people who sought shelter there after the storm the city knew where its bread was buttered and fixed it up good. New Orleans is uniquely positioned to host events like this and I was surprised what a wonderful place it is to see a football game.
What amused me most was the Hawaiian war dance before the game. Having been to New Zealand and gotten a taste of Pacific Island culture this was familiar ground. I thought it was pretty neat. Georgia fans didn't see it that way.
They were feeling pretty snarly to begin with, not having a chance to compete for a share of the national title. Facing an obscure opponent from a weaker conference only added to their frustration and they did not take kindly to the cross cultural presentation before the game.
They had a point. They pretty much whooped Hawaii every way there was to whoop 'em. Hawaii didn't get into the end zone until well into the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Still, it was fun to see the native costumes add a little spice to the proceedings and to be fair, the University of Hawaii has produced its share of NFL players so it's not like they're completely out of place. On this night however, it was all Georgia.
What amused me most was the Hawaiian war dance before the game. Having been to New Zealand and gotten a taste of Pacific Island culture this was familiar ground. I thought it was pretty neat. Georgia fans didn't see it that way.
They were feeling pretty snarly to begin with, not having a chance to compete for a share of the national title. Facing an obscure opponent from a weaker conference only added to their frustration and they did not take kindly to the cross cultural presentation before the game.
They had a point. They pretty much whooped Hawaii every way there was to whoop 'em. Hawaii didn't get into the end zone until well into the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Still, it was fun to see the native costumes add a little spice to the proceedings and to be fair, the University of Hawaii has produced its share of NFL players so it's not like they're completely out of place. On this night however, it was all Georgia.
Let's Do Lunch
I was once asked by some other hikers if I had any friends from anywhere else besides camp since any time I got off the trail to visit someone it was always an old friend from Fernwood. New Orleans was no different.
Emily Morrison was in town with Kim Frankel for a couple of days volunteering for Habitat . Let's do lunch!!
Becky Steingut lives here now having fled New York and now works for a charter school.
Let's do lunch!! (We did breakfast instead).
Miss Toni. Can any Fernwoodite dare to think of New Orleans without thinking of Miss Toni?
Let's do lunch!! We not only had a wonderful lunch together at Cafe Atchafalaya, she took me all around New Orleans and even across Lake Pontchartrain to where she teaches in Covington.
Tim and Jane. OK. Not Fernwood people. At least I've got some friends on the outside. Jane was here for an economics conference and Tim and baby Theo came along for the ride. Theo loved the lights and the action. The place Miss Toni recommended wasn't open so we ended up having dinner in a Mexican place downtown.
Emily Morrison was in town with Kim Frankel for a couple of days volunteering for Habitat . Let's do lunch!!
Becky Steingut lives here now having fled New York and now works for a charter school.
Let's do lunch!! (We did breakfast instead).
Miss Toni. Can any Fernwoodite dare to think of New Orleans without thinking of Miss Toni?
Let's do lunch!! We not only had a wonderful lunch together at Cafe Atchafalaya, she took me all around New Orleans and even across Lake Pontchartrain to where she teaches in Covington.
Tim and Jane. OK. Not Fernwood people. At least I've got some friends on the outside. Jane was here for an economics conference and Tim and baby Theo came along for the ride. Theo loved the lights and the action. The place Miss Toni recommended wasn't open so we ended up having dinner in a Mexican place downtown.
Final Thoughts
After the storm much of the discussion centered on the poor response of government to the crisis and whether or not it was a good idea to rebuild a city that sits below sea level. New Orleans will never be the same as it was but it's on its way back and having spent some time there I'm glad. It's a wonderful city and there's no other place like it. It can be crooked and lawless at times but it has a love of life like no other. The music, the food, the art. New Orleans knows how to have a good time.
Post-Katrina New Orleans is both blessed and cursed by its unruliness. City servants have been loath to explain where millions in Clinton era levee improvement funds disappeared to. Many disappeared themselves when the city needed them most. The Feds have balked at shelling out money to people with the kind of financial irregularities needed to survive in an environment like this. Those who have returned and rebuilt are still struggling. The whole interlocking web of businesses and services that make a city function aren't all the way back yet.
But New Orleans is in the bones of the people who live here and anywhere else is exile. One can feel the spirit of the city in those who have returned and those who have come to help. The people of New Orleans were wonderful while I was down there. Even though the hundred or so houses Habitat builds is a drop in the bucket compared to the hundred thousand or so that are needed, it means a lot to them that people from around the country are willing to come and help. One only hopes that the lure of cheap properties doesn't turn the city into an investment bonanza at the price of its soul. Only time will tell.
The most disturbing question is that there has been no discussion of how to deal with emergencies of this scale in the future. We have no better idea now of how to marshal our resources or who should be in charge than we did before Katrina. What role should churches and other charities play? Should Federal State or Local government take the lead? The people of New Orleans and the gulf remain unheard and their experiences forgotten. This is the continuing tragedy of Katrina. At some point, another disaster will hit and as far as our preparedness is concerned, we haven't learned anything. It's as if it never happened.
Post-Katrina New Orleans is both blessed and cursed by its unruliness. City servants have been loath to explain where millions in Clinton era levee improvement funds disappeared to. Many disappeared themselves when the city needed them most. The Feds have balked at shelling out money to people with the kind of financial irregularities needed to survive in an environment like this. Those who have returned and rebuilt are still struggling. The whole interlocking web of businesses and services that make a city function aren't all the way back yet.
But New Orleans is in the bones of the people who live here and anywhere else is exile. One can feel the spirit of the city in those who have returned and those who have come to help. The people of New Orleans were wonderful while I was down there. Even though the hundred or so houses Habitat builds is a drop in the bucket compared to the hundred thousand or so that are needed, it means a lot to them that people from around the country are willing to come and help. One only hopes that the lure of cheap properties doesn't turn the city into an investment bonanza at the price of its soul. Only time will tell.
The most disturbing question is that there has been no discussion of how to deal with emergencies of this scale in the future. We have no better idea now of how to marshal our resources or who should be in charge than we did before Katrina. What role should churches and other charities play? Should Federal State or Local government take the lead? The people of New Orleans and the gulf remain unheard and their experiences forgotten. This is the continuing tragedy of Katrina. At some point, another disaster will hit and as far as our preparedness is concerned, we haven't learned anything. It's as if it never happened.
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