History and Accomplishments

History

New Orleans Underwater

Hurricane Katrina hit the City of New Orleans on August 29, 2005.  Although the brunt of the storm missed the city, the failure of the levee system left 80% of the city underwater.  When the water finally abated, weeks later, local Presbyterian leaders began meeting to determine how they could respond to  this historic catastrophe. As soon as it was safe to travel in the Katrina-impacted area, First Union Presbyterian Church in Luling set up FISH Camp with temporary housing and food to support the hundreds of volunteers coming in to help. Soon, other local Presbyterian churches joined in to offer housing, tools, and protective clothing.

Throughout 2005-2006, most of the need involved gutting houses and removing debris.  Although physically and emotionally taxing, the work was also rewarding for both homeowners and volunteers.

Slowly the question of how to rebuild began to be asked.  Some individual churches, like St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian and First Presbyterian, took the initiative and began their own rebuilding programs. As the recovery progressed, the majority of Presbyterian churches in the New Orleans area united to form the cooperative rebuilding effort that became Project Homecoming.

Project Homecoming House Banner

Project Homecoming is a rebuilding ministry of the Presbytery of South Louisiana, funded mainly by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.  Utilizing volunteer labor and experienced construction staff, Project Homecoming rebuilds the homes of uninsured, under insured, elderly and disabled survivors of Hurricane Katrina in the Greater New Orleans area.

A week long,  five-house “blitz build” kickstarted Project Homecoming with training and guidance from Hosanna Industries, Inc in March of 2007. Rebuilding then went into full swing in April with the hiring of two construction managers, administrative staff and a case management partnership with Catholic Charities‘ Katrina Aid Today program.  And by the end of our first year we had a waiting list of over 300 homeowners and were able to complete the rebuilding of 33 homes.

Accomplishments

Dan, Lisa and Volunteers

Since its inception in April of 2007, Project Homecoming has utilized its experienced construction management and over 8.000 volunteers to rebuild 120 homes at less than one third the cost charged by contractors.  Using its volunteer labor force, Project Homecoming prides itself on the quality, efficiency and sustainability of its building practices, made possible by a combined 50 years of construction experience among its Construction Managers.