• 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

NOAHH's Third Anniversary Update

On Friday, August 29th, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity commemorated Hurricane Katrina which devastated the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005 by preparing for Tropical Storm Gustav.

“We are much better prepared for a major storm now than ever before,” stated Jim Pate, executive director of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. “We put our storm plan into action and had all worksites locked-down and employees and volunteers out of harms way well in advance of the storm.”

“Never did anyone imagine that Hurricane Katrina or any storm could impact our lives so dramatically,” stated Jim Pate. “Our whole approach to storm preparedness has changed dramatically.”

Post-Katrina, New Orleans Area Habitat has continued to make the eradication of poverty housing an issue and mission by building homes for low-income families. “We have completed over 140 homes which equates to stability for 140 families who now have a place to call their own.”

The most notable of our building areas, the Musicians’ Village, is over 70% complete with the installation of the new roads. The dedication of nine homes on the Katrina Anniversary brings the total of families living in the village to 52. The Ellis Marsalis Music Center is scheduled to begin driving pilings the first week of September. “This project has been a labor of love and we are proud to see it come to fruition,” stated Rob Saer, President of the Board, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.

In St. Bernard Parish, New Orleans Habitat has developed Camp Hope into a premier volunteer base camp offering a safe, affordable place to stay while volunteering with local non-profits. This effort was made possible with the tremendous assistance received from St. Bernard School Board and Parish officials. Additionally, Habitat volunteers are working in St. Bernard Parish to build over 50 homes for elderly or disabled families who lost their homes during Hurricane Katrina. “In addition to building homes, volunteers were dispatched to local community groups to help gut homes, renovate community centers and the food bank along with working with the local children and elderly to better handle the effects of the storm,” added Pate.

For the first time, New Orleans Habitat expanded to build in Jefferson Parish and have built a concentration of homes on the West Bank. The opportunity allowed the affiliate to serve more families in the metro New Orleans area. Overall, Habitat continues to build in nine neighborhoods.

“Hurricane Katrina brought us the opportunity to increase our building capacity and help more families; an opportunity that has been met with challenges,” stated Pate. “Our staff that has increased from four to 60 and has overcome tremendous obstacles to focus on our mission and build these homes.”

As New Orleans Habitat commemorates the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the 25th anniversary of the New Orleans affiliate, we take stock in our successes since August 29, 2005:

• New Orleans Habitat has welcomed over 68,600 volunteers accounting for almost 180,000 instances of volunteering.

• Over 140 families have received homes – average number of homes built annually pre-Katrina was 10-12.

• For the second year in a row, New Orleans Habitat is the largest homebuilder in Orleans Parish pulling 9.4% of all single family residential new construction building permits (105 pulled out of total 1113) in 2007. In 2006, New Orleans Habitat pulled 12% of new construction building permits (60 of 513).

• New Orleans Habitat has received over 19,000 donations.

• The 72-family Musicians’ Village neighborhood is over 70% complete including four blocks of new roads.

• New Orleans Habitat has distributed over 30,000 sheets of drywall to local non-profits at no cost to assist families in their rebuilding efforts.

• New Orleans Habitat participated in the 2008 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project and blitz built 7 homes on Law Street, dried-in 15 homes and dedicated 25 homes within a one week period.

• New Orleans Habitat has partnered with community projects, neighborhood groups and faith-based organizations to assist in rebuilding communities across our affiliate area.

• New Orleans Habitat has expanded its active construction areas to include St. Bernard, Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes.

In our 25 years in New Orleans, we never expected such a tremendous increase in support from our volunteers and donors following Katrina; it was overwhelming. It’s truly inspiring to see the generosity the world has offered. The lessons of Hurricane Katrina stay with us as we move forward with our mission,” concluded Pate. “It’s not likely that the area will ever be caught off guard or respond in the manner it did if another storm were to make landfall here.”

New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. NOAHH builds new houses in partnership with sponsors, volunteers, communities, and homeowner families to eliminate poverty housing in the New Orleans area while serving as a catalyst to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Since its inception in 1983 NOAHH has built over 240 new homes for low-income families in need of adequate shelter. NOAHH plans to continue to build homes in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, St. Charles and Plaquemines Parishes. www.habitat-nola.org