Project: Katrina Hope

Thankful.

Here’s a quick note to say…”We’re thankful!”

Thank you to:

The volunteers, who continue to travel to the Gulf Coast in droves to rebuild the homes of residents and raise their spirits
The homeowners, whose resilience inspires us all, even more than five years after Hurricane Katrina
Project: Katrina Hope’s supporters, who have allowed us to maintain our services for more than three years now

We have a lot of progress for which to be thankful.

Posted on November 25th, 2010 by Gretchen Wieland
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The Fifth: Hope.

Today is most certainly a day of reflection.

We honor the memory of the more than 1,800 people who lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Katrina. We recall the horrifying images of people stranded on rooftops, wading through the toxic waters, and packed into the Superdome and Convention Center. We recount the hundreds of thousands of homes rendered uninhabitable, thousands of which were eventually torn down or still sit uninhabited.

However, today is more so a day for hope.

Families are rebuilding their homes–many, with the help of selfless volunteers from all over the world. People are proud to call New Orleans home. Businesses in Mississippi and Louisiana have reopened, schools are coming back, and some neighborhoods are bigger and better than five years ago.

The Gulf Coast has always housed a unique and vibrant culture–one that cannot be found anywhere else in this country. It has also housed resiliency and a spirit that cannot be broken, no matter how tragic or unfair the conditions. That resiliency is built upon hope, which can be found in both big and small ways today, the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. Hope can be seen in…

a fresh coat of paint.

a championship!

public transport.

growth and new life.

the renewal of a city.

Today, I urge you to hope.

With eternal hope,

Gretchen

Photos: Amanda Spillman

Posted on August 29th, 2010 by Gretchen Wieland
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The Fifth: Progress.

While destruction is still prevalent in major sections of the Gulf Coast, even five years after Hurricane Katrina, it’s also important to focus on what has been done. The progress in many key neighborhoods has been stunning, and this is thanks to both determined homeowners and millions of incredible volunteers.

Here’s some of the more small-scale progress:

Building a West Bank home

The completed West Bank home

Painting a retirement home in Gentilly

Hanging drywall in Violet

Cleaning up in St. Bernard Parish

Posted on August 28th, 2010 by Gretchen Wieland
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The Fifth: Destruction.

When so many people think of Hurricane Katrina, they think of the widespread and intense destruction it caused. The familiar disturbing images are flooding our airwaves in the days leading up to the storm’s fifth anniversary. I wanted to share with you a few photos by dedicated volunteer Amanda Spillman, a young woman from Maryland who was so touched by her volunteer trips to the Gulf that she decided to move to the middle of the destruction in the New Orleans area and tirelessly work to rebuild the homes and lives of people who lost everything.

Today, a few of her photos focus on Katrina’s destruction, which remained years after the storm: