Rebuilding Together
One of the organizations mentioned by Mr. Lauscha, Rebuilding Together has played a key role in the effort in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. I met with Camille Lopez, Program Manager, Disaster Relief on Friday the 1st. Rebuilding Together’s mission is to preserve and revitalize houses and communities, assuring that low-income homeowners, and particularly those who are elderly and disabled and families with children, can live in warmth, safety, independently and with dignity. They provide necessary repairs free of charge to existing homeowners. Volunteers come from all over the nation. I met a group of people who were from Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Florida and other areas of the country.
As a result of the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Rebuilding Together has pledged to rebuild 1,000 homes in the Gulf. The two families mentioned below are receiving a helping hand from Rebuilding Together.
Coming Home - 99 Years old and Displaced
Mr. Vigee never expected to be living in Texas in his 99th year. He had been a resident of the historic Tremé district of New Orleans for more than forty years. When he was planning his retirement, he purchased a small, one-story home. His career as a merchant marine took him all around the globe and he was looking forward to spending more time in New Orleans. He took on a job cleaning restaurants in the French Quarter.
The Vigees evacuated the day before Katrina hit, going to stay with relatives in Texas. They did not have flood insurance and were devastated when they learned the property was flooded by the levee breach. They received no insurance payout. FEMA gave them a little over $10,000, which they’ve been using to rent an apartment in Texas.
Mr. Vigee looks forward to celebrating his 100th birthday next year back in his home in Tremé.
Coming Home - A Veteran’s Story
Louis Freeman saw action in World War II in both the Pacific and European theatres. The GI Bill allowed him to purchase a home in New Orleans. In one half of the duplex property, Louis Jr. ran a barber shop frequented by many friendly faces in the neighborhood. Mr. Freeman was one of many New Orleanians who was unable to get out of Katrina’s path. When the levees broke and water rose, he was trapped in his attic for days before finally being rescued. He was not safe yet, however, as he, along with other storm-weary survivors, was stranded on a freeway overpass without food, water or medical assistance. Eventually he was evacuated by helicopter to Houston, where he stayed until his 87-year-old body was healthy again.
Now, while Louis Sr. stays with relatives near Baton Rouge, his son does what he can on the house, little by little, day by day.
Rebuilding Together
This year marked the celebration of Rebuilding Together rehabilitation of its 100,000 home.
“As we mark the occasion of having rehabbed 100,000 houses, it is Rebuilding Together’s hope that more sponsors and volunteers will join us in our mission,” said President and CEO Gary A. Officer. Officer pointed to “Yard by Yard,” a recently introduced campaign in which NFL rookie star and New Orleans Saints football player Reggie Bush and Diet Pepsi have teamed up with RT (Rebuilding Together) to help the people of New Orleans rebuild.
“With more than twenty-four million low-income homeowners and others in need in communities across America, we’re giving voice to the heart in many ways–as we fix up houses affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as we reach out to help injured veterans returning from Iraq, and as we help our own elderly and disabled neighbors, as well as families with children,” said Officer. “And as we rebuild homes, we rebuild lives.”
See Rebuilding Together for more information or call 1-800-REHAB-9.
