When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Louisiana coastline on August
29, 2005, it created a storm surge that caused large breaches in levees
that protected the bowl-shaped city of New Orleans, where most homes
are built below sea level. More than 1,800 people died. Hundreds of
thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed during the storm, at an
estimated cost of $81.2 billion.
My grandmother’s home was just two blocks from the break in the London
Avenue Canal levee. Her home was inundated with toxic, contaminated
water for more than three weeks. My uncle’s office building was destroyed
by a tornado and half his employees were left homeless by the storm.
But my family was very lucky. They went to Houston ahead of the storm
and then lived together for four months before returning to the city
to start rebuilding. Many New Orleanians were not so lucky. They lack
the funds to return and rebuild; they struggle to access government
relief programs; and tens of thousands are forced to make new lives
far from the city they love.
Although I was raised in Massachusetts, I have visited family in New
Orleans almost every year since I was born. I know it well and dearly
love all the things that make it such a special place. In August 2007
during the summer of my senior year at UMass Amherst, I began documenting
the aftermath of the storm and the rebuilding effort in the city. I
was motivated by a desire to show people how bad things really are
and how much still needs to be done.
During my last visit, on spring break in March 2008, I was happy to
find many alumni and students playing an important role in the New
Orleans recovery effort. By telling their story in pictures and words,
I hope that others will be moved to help.
FitzPatrick is a staff photographer for Housatonic Publications
and the Litchfield County Times in
Connecticut. She welcomes responses to her story and photographs at erinfphoto@gmail.com.
NOLA YURP nolayurp.org
137 N. Clark St.New Orleans, LA 70119
504-267-4004
Neighborhoods Partnership Network npnnola.com
3500 Canal St.
New Orleans, LA 70119
504-940-2207
New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity habitat-nola.org
7100 St. Charles Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-861-2077
Common Ground Relief commongroundrelief.org
PO Box 6128
New Orleans, LA 70174
504-304-9097
Women of the Storm womenofthestorm.net
1625 Palmer Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70118
Phoenix of New Orleans pnola.org
310 S. Broad
New Orleans, LA 70119
504-342-4399
Stay Local staylocal.org
5030 South Liberty St.
New Orleans, LA 70115
504-617-6618
Brien Waterman ’06 spent a day building the floor of a home for
Katrina survivors.
Nathan Rothstein ’06, from Lexington, Massachusetts,
founded New Orleans Louisiana Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals
Initiative (NOLA YURP), a networking organization whose mission
is “to connect, retain and attract young professionals from diverse
backgrounds for a sustainable New Orleans. ”One of his major goals
is to promote meaningful social change in the city. Rothstein travels
to college campuses across the country encouraging students to
come to the city to volunteer, work, or go to school. New Orleans
lost so many residents after the storm that bringing new people
to live there before the 2010 census could save the city millions
in federal funding.
Republic Panel
At Howard University, Rothstein, far left, organized a panel discussion
by (left to right) New Orleans police officer Greg Gavins, former
Mayor’s aide Telley Savalas Madina, McKenna Museum of African
American Art director and curator Shantrelle Lewis, and Tulane
University law student Avione Brown. They urged student volunteers
to consider returning to the city to live, work, and help preserve
its culture, which is deeply influenced by African American traditions.
Gill Benedek ’06, left, a double major in marketing and political
science, sees working in New Orleans as an opportunity to start
something new and “have it matter and last.” As community programs
manager for the Neighborhoods Partnership Network (NPN), Benedek
helps neighborhoods find resources for rebuilding their homes and
strengthening their community. Ben (who sports an NPN T-shirt)
and Cheryl Diggins, residents of the Melia Subdivision of New Orleans
East, bought five homes that they will repair and rent out to friends
and former neighbors.
No Parking
Shot in March 2008, this image shows some of the storm debris that
remains untouched in the Lower Ninth Ward and demonstrates the
destructive force of the water that rushed through the levee
breaches.
UMies in ’Nawlins
These students gathered at the Voodoo Barbeque in New Orleans were
one of three UMass Amherst groups that helped clean out flooded
homes during their Alternative Spring Break in March 2008.
Yvonne Lewis and Amir
Moini, ’11, were
two students in the group. Thousands of students are traveling
to New Orleans from all over the United States during breaks and
summer vacation to help with the recovery effort.
Musicians’ Village
These homes are part of Musicians’ Village, a Habitat for Humanity
project in the Upper Ninth Ward organized by musicians Harry
Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis—both native New Orleanians.
Seventy percent of the residents will be musicians. So far volunteers,
including professionals and students from across the country,
have worked on 72 colorful shotgun houses.
Jazz McKee
The historic French Quarter remained largely untouched by flooding,
allowing the city to reopen quickly to tourists who want to experience
some of the things that have made New Orleans famous—delicious
food, beautiful French and Spanish architecture, and great music.
In this picture, musician Julius “Jazz” McKee of the Dirty Dozen
Brass Band plays on a French Quarter street corner flanked by
his children, Julius and Jazzy. Tourists visiting the city for
Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, and vacations are helping the recovery
effort by providing more customers for restaurants and attractions.
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