Day Five: St. Bernard Project

Today we worked with St. Bernard Project. Rebuilding Together only takes volunteers Monday-Thursday, so we found another organization that focused on the same issues for today. St. Bernard Project also focuses on home restoration but focuses solely on homes affected by Hurricane Katrina. Simon was the volunteer coordinator, who I actually worked with before the trip, and gave us a short orientation. In the orientation we actually were with a group of college students from Chicago, who were also on alternative break. I talked to their site leader and he said that he took a group of students down to New Orleans for the past few years.  Simon talked about how the organization was formed in 2006 by Liz and Zack; who left their lives in DC to dedicate their lives to helping residents return to their homes.

                Simon said that SBP has restored the most homes affect by Hurricane Katrina of any non profit in the city. He said that SBP restores homes to their original condition in less than two months. He said they are focused on how quickly they can return residents back to their homes. Simon also mentioned that there is over a 100 person waiting list and they have stopped taking applications due to lack of funding.  Simon made a really good point during orientation. He asked what we most missed about back home. Many of us answered our beds; he then said that these people have been waiting over five years to return to their beds. That was a great way to put in perspective how many ways the individuals on the waiting list are struggling.

                We arrived at our home and were greeted by Cody, the site manager. Cody is also an AmeriCorps volunteer. Ashley another volunteer came later and was also AmeriCorps volunteer. I first talked to her about her excellent taste in music and then figured I might as well get another perspective about serving an AmeriCorps term. She is actually part of AmeriCorps NCCC. She is in a group of 12 18-24 year olds and travels once a month to different locations. She spent a month in Alabama providing disaster relief and one month in Memphis restoring abandoned schools. She said this was a great way for her to travel the United States and be able to learn about and help a variety of issues across the country. This seems like a perfect opportunity for me after graduation and I have already done more research about the NCCC program.

                However, I must say that I am very thankful we worked with Rebuilding Together the majority of the break. We split into two groups. One group primed the bathroom and closets and the group I was in cleared out the garage and removed the screws in the drywall.  This was similar work that we did earlier the week, but it was not as good of a working atmosphere.  It was not only the fact that is was considerably muggier and hotter today, some of the volunteers at the house were not totally invested in the work they were doing. I overheard several complaints about the work and the program. Granted it was Friday afternoon but I was not only one that thought certain individuals at this program were less dedicated and were not truly appreciating the AmeriCorps experience. This was a personal reminder to fully appreciate all the opportunities I am fortunate enough to have, including this trip which has been a truly incredible experience.