Group XII (2006-2008) News

Regional Seminar, September 15-21, 2007, New Orleans

by Nancy Maier, Group 12 Fellow

Thank you to our seminar sponsor:

New Orleans – Two Years Post-Katrina

Driving through the Lower 9th Ward, the level of devastation still evident two years after the storm was unbelievable. It was shocking to imagine we were still in the United States, because it looked like a third-world country.

Green spaces were where houses had simply washed away. Multi-colored spray painted X’s still adorned almost every house. This was a kind of shorthand by storm rescuers to tell if bodies needed to be recovered inside or if animals were present. Houses stand with broken windows, doors or no roof. Nearby a homeowner may be living in a FEMA trailer, working to rebuild his house. Street signs are hand-painted. Electrical wires curl to the ground. Big piles of moldy drywall and old insulation dot the sidewalks.

St. Peter Claver Church

We attended a Sunday church service at St. Peter Claver Church. The two-hour service was dynamic and alive with praise music throughout. St. Peter Claver is the heartbeat of the community for people who live in the neighborhood.

After church, several workers from the church spoke of their own storm evacuations and described their individual “Katrina story.” Many of them were separated from family members and loved ones for seven months to one year or more.

One woman impressed upon us that most people who lost homes were homeowners and had paid their taxes for years on the properties they owned. She told us to imagine one day having a house, a job, a car and your family. Wake up one day and now you have none of that. That is the reality for many who went through Katrina.

WRLP Group XII did a small bit of volunteer work. One group helped paint the inside of a house that had been repaired. Two apartments were gutted down to the studs to prepare it for rebuilding. “I can’t believe the amount of progress that was made on the apartments during one day,” said Father Michael, St. Peter Claver Church. “These apartments will be remodeled into the future site of the church’s credit union.”

Despite widespread devastation, most residents of the area remained upbeat about the future. The people of New Orleans are excited to make changes to areas of their city that had problems before such as schools and hospitals. Hope in the restoration is their guiding light for the future.

Thank you to our seminar chairs, Vallerie Maurice, Director of Workforce Equity & Diversity, UW-Extension, Madison, and Sarah Halstead, Executive Director, Family Connections in Portage County, Inc. and WRLP alumni and board member.

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