[StBernard] Katrina Survivor And Family Close To Finally Having Home Rebuilt

[Westley Annis]

Katrina Survivor And Family Close To Finally Having Home Rebuilt

This story is part of HuffPost Impact's 12 Days, 12 Cities, 12 Families
series, highlighting Americans who have persevered to overcome incredible
challenges and the nonprofits that helped change their lives. Check back
tomorrow for the continuation of this series.

What more is there to say about Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans? After the
photos and videos from 2005, the controversy and criticism, and the years of
rebuilding, what more stories can there be? Of course, four years after
Katrina, there are still more than 2,000 families living in FEMA trailers
and thousands of others in temporary housing. Indeed, the most touching and
devastating of these stories may belong to the people who, despite their
best efforts, still have yet to return home.



Jennifer Lanier lived a modest, but pleasant life in St. Bernard Parish,
adjacent to the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. She had a steady job with
benefits as a waitress, and was able to provide for her three children,
Zillah, Lillian and Isabella. They hesitantly took advice to evacuate their
home in New Orleans the day before Katrina hit. She believed that her and
her family would be able to return within a few days, so they traveled the
60 miles to Carriere, Mississippi, where they stayed with her brother.

Within a matter of days, Jennifer realized that her family had lost
everything.


Her home, like all 27,000 others in St. Bernard Parish, was completely
flooded. Jennifer had few places to turn, as all of her family members'
homes in New Orleans were also flooded. After leaving her brother's house,
the family moved in with Jennifer's grandmother in Mississippi. It wasn't
until just last year that they finally returned to New Orleans, moving in
with Jennifer's mother.

Over the phone, Jennifer told me that one of the hardest things for her as a
parent is the inability to provide her children with the stability that she
had achieved pre-Katrina. Though the hurricane took their possessions, the
ensuing years have stripped her family of security and forced them into the
growing population of Americans who don't know where they might sleep or get
their next meal.

Now, with help from a local organization, they may finally be able to move
back home.

The St. Bernard Project works to rebuild houses destroyed or damaged by
Hurricane Katrina. The organization is currently attempting to prevent
Jennifer's damaged house from being demolished, though they currently have
insufficient funds to begin rebuilding the house. The St. Bernard Project
works with many New Orleans residents who face similar circumstances,
including Octave Francis in Gentilly and Darrell Betha in Meraux.


The St. Bernard Project has been working since 2006 to give these Katrina
survivors the shelter and security they currently lack. In just the last few
years, they've rebuilt 246 homes, utilizing more than 17,000 volunteers.
Despite their headway, the St. Bernard Project still receives at least 10
applicants a week -- families much like Jennifer's. You can help by
contributing to The St. Bernard Project or directly to Jennifer Lanier via
the widget below.

A typical rebuild through St. Bernard's Project costs about $15,000 worth of
building supplies. By donating even a little, you will make a direct impact
on the lives of Jennifer and her family, and help turn a house back into a
home.