by Bill Mahoney
I returned to New Orleans with a group of 9 volunteers. Eight of us were part of a Saint Michael's College Alumni group of thirteen who had gone in May of last year. Last year we felt that the trip was very rewarding and had made a commitment to return if we could.
I was able to return because my employer, Wyeth Biotech in Andover, allowed me to use compensatory time despite the fact I had just started there 5 months ago. Our group worked on assignments given to us by Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities is one of several organizations that will sponsor groups of 10 to 15 volunteers who must pay for their own food and for travel to New Orleans. Catholic Charities provided a place for us to stay. It was in a building on the grounds of Hope Haven Center, a residential treatment facility for children with serious behavioral, educational, and/or family problems. The children were locked in on one side of our building; we were locked in on the other. Our side had Plexiglas covering the windows and air conditioners that didn't work. With the heat and humidity we didn't always get the sleep we needed. Our side of the building had one coed bathroom with 3 toilets and 4 showers for 22 people.
[0]Mahoney & coworker Laura Martin of VirginiaLast year we were involved in the emptying and gutting of houses. This year we had hope we would be rehabbing or building houses but since the need for gutting was great, that is what we did. We worked on about 7 houses. We tore down ceilings, walls, and siding, took out water heaters, air conditioners, and other appliances, removed nails, removed debris, and sprayed the gutted houses for mold.
Driving into the hardest hit districts was quite a different experience this year compared to last. Last year, nine months after the hurricane, the devastated areas had hardly been touched. There still was no electricity, the stores were closed, and there were only a few homes that had any work done on them. We worked on houses all day without seeing anybody on the street and only one or two cars going by. This year there was a lot more activity; electricity is on, several stores have reopened, there are a lot more people and cars, and many more homes have been worked on or have trailers attached. The improvement over last year was heartening and gave us some sense that our help was not wasted.
At every house we worked on we were able to meet someone on the street who had returned. Most of the returnees we talked with had a grim determination to rebuild despite the hurricane damage, the bureaucracy of FEMA [0], the lack of leadership amongst the politicians, and the difficulty of working with insurance companies. They also expressed a wish for the return of more of their neighbors. They hope to see the neighborhoods made whole again. Despite the apparent progress being made, when one steps back and looks again, only about one in ten houses has been rebuilt. Given that over 200,000 houses were damaged, it will be years before the work is done. Sadly, many, if not most, people will not return. The elderly will pass. The young will get jobs and start new lives in the cities they were evacuated to. New Orleans has lost a part of its population that gave the city a culture unique to the United States. New Orleans will survive but will never be the same without these neighborhoods.
After the week, we were all tired (nicked and bruised) but, once again, had the feeling that in a small way we were helping people in need. These good feelings will probably pull us back down to New Orleans next year.
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Dunstable Resident Shares First-Hand Experience of New Orleans Destruction and Rehabilitation [0]