09226
March 19, 2009

Turning things around

Project Homecoming helps rebuild homes in New Orleans

by Bethany Furkin
Presbyterian News Service

A volunteer touches up the outside of Alton and Linda Minor’s home.

NEW ORLEANS, LA — The purple house on a residential street here definitely stands out — it’s bigger and brighter than the surrounding houses. But what isn’t so obvious is the story of how it came to be.

Linda and Alton Minor live here with their 14-year-old son. They were here before Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, but in a different house, which was flooded with four and a half feet of water. When they came back to town a year after evacuating, they decided to rebuild and began working with a local contractor.

That was the beginning of a long journey full of disappointment and worry but, finally, peace.

The contractor’s work started well, Linda Minor said. He used environmentally friendly materials when possible and started pouring concrete and forming the basement. But when it came time to start building walls, things began to fall apart.

The wall panels had to be installed in a specified order, but instead of following the manual, the contractor and his partners placed them haphazardly, trimming pieces to make them fit. The Minors trusted that the workers knew what they were doing, but when one worker fell while on the site, they became aware that there was no real supervision or plan for the construction.

They then began noticing that the stories of the house weren’t level or stable. The stairs weren’t properly aligned. Window and door frames wouldn’t have passed a code inspection. Support columns on the front porch were weak. And when they tried contacting the contractor about their concerns, he became unavailable.

“At that point, I knew I had to get somebody else,” Linda Minor said. 

The Minors didn’t have insurance and were using a disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration to finance repairs.

This kind of situation is common in New Orleans, said Jean Marie Peacock, associate presbyter for congregational development and disaster recovery with the Presbytery of South Louisiana.

“Contractor fraud is a huge issue here,” she said, adding that the University of New Orleans is working on documenting cases of fraud. “There’s heartbreaking stories of people who spent what money they had and got broken dreams.”

In addition to contractor fraud, people who are rebuilding must deal with theft, Peacock said. Often, only one house on a street is being rebuilt at a time, while surrounding houses remain empty. That lack of neighbors means no extra eyes to look out for thieves, who often sneak onto construction sites and steal doors, gutters or cabinets for their own homes.

Volunteers with Project Homecoming work to un-do faulty work by a fraudulent contractor.

Alton Minor learned about Project Homecoming, the rebuilding outreach program of the Presbytery of South Louisiana, after meeting Richard Maag, mission outreach coordinator, at the gym. At first, the Minors didn’t think they’d be eligible for assistance because they feared they’d be seen as irresponsible for hiring a bad contractor.

To be eligible for help from Project Homecoming, applicants must have a combined household income at or below 80 percent of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development median income level. For a three-person household in 2008, the New Orleans HUD median income was $44,050.

Priority is given to those who are uninsured, underinsured, elderly or disabled. Other initial qualifying criteria: the home must be in New Orleans or St. Bernard Parish, the home must have been damaged by Hurricane Katrina, the applicant must own the home and have done so before the storm and must have funds and/or materials to complete the rebuild.

Project Homecoming does not have a case management service, but does make referrals to case managers at other agencies for applicants.

After determining the financial eligibility of an applicant, Project Homecoming staffers visit the house to assess how much the rebuild will cost. Jobs that require licensed professionals, such as plumbing and electricity, are contracted out. At the Project Homecoming office in New Orleans, current projects are listed on a board; a ledger of receipts, donations and other information is also kept for each house.  

Alton and Linda Minor thank the volunteers “from the bottom of our hearts.”

Administrative costs for Project Homecoming are funded by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and donations pay for building materials, professional services and home furnishings. By using volunteer labor, Project Homecoming can make rebuilding possible for many who would otherwise be unable to afford it.

At the Minor’s house, volunteers have been working since January to repair and rebuild, allowing the family to move forward.