Rebuilding Together: Day 4

Today was our last day at Rebuilding Together and it was definitely a bittersweet day. We were fortunate that we came to volunteer in the later phase of the restoration of John’s home. We were really able to see the house coming together. Today we did a final coat of paint on the trim and did touch up on the wall paint. It was amazing to see all of the progress that we had made in just the last four days. This is also the first house that Jennifer will complete and it was obvious that she was also getting very excited. After we did some cleaning, took off all the blue tape, and started to pack up it was hard for me not to be a little sad. It was difficult not be able to stay and help finish up the house and to see John be able to return to his house.

                After our work day we decided to make a group trip to the 9^th ward. During the trip I thought that it was interesting how long the application process was to receive restoration from Rebuilding Together when there were so many homeowners that were still in such dire need. Then I thought how long, several years after Katrina, they were still waiting for assistance. When I was talking to Dan earlier in the week, he said that many of the houses were distressed before Katrina (obviously not as extreme or widespread), especially low income neighborhoods. Unsafe housing was a prevalent issue before the hurricane. We went to the lower 9^th ward to look at the Make it Right houses, which have impressive modern architecture.

                We went to see the modern architecture, but I think it was important that we drove through another severely troubled neighborhood greatly affected by Katrina. As we drove through the neighborhood we noticed that there were more potholes in the road than houses that were livable and there were still Xs on the sides of many houses from Katrina inspections. This was a neighborhood that struggled before Katrina and is still struggling over five years after the hurricane. As we admired the modern houses, it was hard not to notice that this neighborhood was pretty empty and abandoned.

                We actually saw a “City Tours” bus going through the Make it Right neighborhood. Several men dressed in suit jackets and huge Canons paraded through the neighborhood before hopping on to go to the next “tourist” location. This seemed so wrong; I couldn’t believe how this severely distressed neighborhood had become a way for tourist to entertain themselves. I am certain some tourists plowed through the neighborhood without noticing/thinking about the houses still marked with Xs and the homeless shelter with a line longer than an entire street block.  This was a reminder that our free day Sunday and our housing locations were a completely different experiences than most that live the city of New Orleans.