• National Building Museum Honors Musicians' Village Founders
• NOAHH Names New Board Members for 2010
• Disney's Give a Day Get a Day with NOAHH
• 300 Homes Built Post-Katrina By NOAHH
• Entergy Innovation Center Opens in Upper Ninth Ward
• NOAHH and Jazz Fest Celebrate Raisin the Roof
• Shell and NOAHH Raise Walls on Fifth Duplex
• Tru Value Donates 17 Freightliners of Supplies to NOAHH
• Hornets Begin 13th, 14th and 15th Hoops for Homes in New Orleans East
• St. Paul's Class of 1977 Dedicates Habitat Home
• Eleven Homes Dedicated With Baptist Crossroads
• 3,500 Students Volunteer with NOAHH
• NOAHH Appoints New Board Members
• NOAHH Completes 84 Homes in 2008
• Texas Roadhouse and TriMark SS Kemp Dedicate MV Homes  [PDF: 52 KB - Nov 13, 2008]
• New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity Receives
• NOAHH's Third Anniversary Update
• Catholicos Visit Musicians' Village
• NOAHH Continues Through Second Anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
• Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Celebrate 1000th House in New Orleans
• Hornets and NOAHH back at work
• President Bush visits Musicians Village
• 30 Families receive keys to their new homes!!!
• Barack Obama visits Musicians Village
• Musicians Village House dedications
• President Bush letter to NOAHH
• Music is foundation to Rebuild New Orleans
• President Bush Visits the Musicians Village

30 Families receive keys to their new homes!!!

Some of the families receiving keys to their new homes at the dedication

Some of the homes built through Baptist Crossroads

Last year, New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward was one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, with more than 90,000 homes ruined. This year, it’s the site of the largest New Orleans Habitat for Humanity project ever undertaken by a single denomination anywhere in the world. And to cap this impressive turn around, thirty families received the keys to their brand new homes last Saturday 19th August 2006. The project in itself is a first in Habitat history. Never before has a single denomination sponsored so many homes through Habitat for Humanity, anywhere in the world.

Inspired by David Crosby, the pastor of First Baptist Church of New Orleans, the venture is called the Baptist Crossroads Project . Organized by the non-profit Baptist Crossroads Foundation in partnership with Baptist Community Ministries.

But the Baptist Crossroads Project predates Katrina. Crosby came up with the idea after a 2004 prayer breakfast where New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said home ownership was the most important factor in eradicating poverty. After First Baptist conducted a "40 Days of Purpose" renewal campaign that fall, the congregation embarked on an effort to build 40 homes.

The roughly $3 million project is funded in part by a $1.5 million matching grant from Baptist Community Ministries. After the storm came, New Orleans Habitat for Humanity became a matching partner as well. With the completion of the initial 30 homes between June and August, First Baptist hopes to build 100 houses in the same area over the next two years, according to project coordinator Inman Houston.

“We’re focusing here because after the storm, this was an area that had great need, Houston told Associated Baptist Press. “But at the same time, this is an area that can and should come back.

To get into these houses, applicants went through a mandatory screening process that takes into account need for shelter, willingness to partner and family finances . Each three-bedroom, one-bath house is worth $85,000 to $90,000, but families pay roughly $75,000 for them through a 20-year, no-interest loan.

House recipients also provided 350 hours of "sweat" equity, which entails working on the houses or in other non construction activities.

"We wish to thank the staff, volunteers, Baptist crossroads, and everyone who made this project a success" said Jim Pate, NOAHH Executive Director. "All these homes were built between June 5th and now, through the sweat and committment of hundreds of special people" he added

New Orleans Habitat for Humanity expresses its gratitude to First Baptist church, Habitat International, donors and volunteers from all over the county who worked on the homes and supported these efforts in various ways

Most importantly we share in the joy of the families receiving the homes, and through the shared committment and spirit, NOAHH will continue the process of repopulating and rebuilding communities in New Orleans and elsewhere in Louisiana