• 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

300 Homes Built Post-Katrina By NOAHH

New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity
Provides Homes for 300 Families
An Update on the Fourth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

August 29, 2009 (NEW ORLEANS, LA) On Saturday, August 29th, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity commemorated Hurricane Katrina which devastated the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005 by raising the walls on the 300th home post-Katrina for Clorestine Haney and her family.

“The 300th house post-Katrina is a momentous occasion for us,” stated Jim Pate, Executive Director New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. “We never dreamed that the area would be so devastated by the flooding and the need increase so 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 250 homes which equates to stability for over 635 individuals who now have a place to call their own.”

The 300th home is sponsored by the Fund for Humanity which is funded by the mortgage payments that current Habitat homeowners make on their homes. These funds are restricted to home building. “It’s important to see that the Habitat families help make the dream of home ownership happen for another family,” added Pate.

The most notable of our building areas, the Musicians’ Village, is over 98% complete with only one home incomplete. Currently 71 families are living in the Village. The Ellis Marsalis Music Center and toddler-friendly pocket park are scheduled to begin shortly. “The Village was the largest concentrated build that the affiliate has ever undertaken,” stated Rob Saer, President of the Board, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. “As the majority of the construction wraps up, we are proud of what we, along with over 100,000 volunteers, have accomplished post-Katrina.”

In St. Bernard Parish, NOAHH has completed 46 homes for families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, over 25 homes have been built in Jefferson Parish with a concentration on the Westbank. “The Upper Ninth Ward continues to be a focus ours as we have continued to invest in the neighborhood and see families repopulate the area.”

As New Orleans Habitat commemorates the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we take stock in our successes since August 29, 2005:

• New Orleans Habitat has welcomed over 100,000 volunteers.

• New Orleans Habitat began construction on the 300th home post-Katrina.

• Over 250 families have received homes – average number of homes built annually pre-Katrina was 10-12.

• In 2007, 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).

• The 72-family Musicians’ Village neighborhood is over 98% complete including four blocks of new roads.

• NOAHH partner with Idea Village to renovate a local pharmacy to serve as the Entergy Innovation Center to provide business services along with retail space for residents of the Uper Ninth Ward.

• 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 26 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 350 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