Beacon of Hope
Heather Newgen is a freelance writer who is based in Los Angeles. She is volunteering in New Orleans for a week, and will detail her experience on Voluntales throughout her journey. Please check back often for more updates.
Today I was in the Lower 9th Ward–the area most affected by Katrina. I stood on vacant lots filled with debris–lots where people’s houses used to be. What I saw and learned is shocking and upsetting.
Five years after the hurricane, people are still unable to return to their homes because of cessions. A lot of times property here in New Orleans is handed down generation after generation. It’s been considered a well known long-standing tradition. However, the proper paperwork is never filed because they thought it was good enough to just verbally say who they wanted to give their house to. After Katrina, people haven’t been able to prove they lived in the homes because their name isn’t on the deed so for that reason, they have not been able to collect from insurance companies or FEMA.
As a result, they have been forced to relocate, sometimes even to different cities. The place where they once lived is still not occupied. The lots have become overrun with weeds and trash. Some of the lots have no evidence a house was even there, while others have frames that are barely standing. The city of New Orleans considers the properties “unkept” and charges the homeowners $100 a day. If they are unable to pay the fine, they lose the property.
So not only have these people lost everything, but now they have to pay on top of it.
Beacon of Hope, an organization dedicated to assisting the citizens of NOLA rebuild their homes, is frantically trying to help these people by having volunteers clear the rubbish off their land so that they aren’t fined. I was one of the volunteers today and it was a truly rewarding experience. Not only did I feel like I made a huge difference, but I learned about why it’s so much more important than I realized to give back. If it wasn’t for volunteers, the homeowners would have huge fines they couldn’t pay and would eventually lose more than what they already have.
After talking to locals, I found out the city of New Orleans is broke and is hastily trying to generate revenue for the community so they are creating penalties for the victims of Katrina.
Linda Jackson, the president of the Lower 9th Ward Home Association, who has partnered with Beacon of Hope, says they desperately needs volunteers and donations. She’s working around the clock trying to do what she can, but she needs money for equipment and supplies like rakes, shovels, clippers and so forth to aid her in the process. She also needs more man power which has been hard to find at times.
If interested please visit www.lakewoodbeacon.org.
While I’ve never done so much physical labor before, working with Beacon of Hope was an amazing experience and I highly recommend to anyone interested in volunteering in NOLA to try them out.
And in case if you’re wondering why people still need help in New Orleans five years after the hurricane swept through the city, here are a few facts about Katrina and the Lower 9th Ward:
There were 1,836 fatalities; over 1,000 in the Lower 9th Ward.
More than 4,000 homes were destroyed in the Lower 9th Ward.
The levees that broke were literally in the backyards of people living in this area.
Within five minutes, the Lower 9th Ward was under water.
Damages now total $84 billion.
To read Heather’s first installment, click here.