Barbara O'Brien

One House at a Time

Last week, two families prepared to move in to their newly built homes in New Orleans's Lower 9th Ward. These are believed to be the first two homes built in the Lower 9th Ward since Hurricane Katrina, 18 months ago.

The homes were built through the efforts of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). Betty Bohrer of the Associated Press:

A community group called ACORN Housing lined up financing for the two houses, valued at about $125,000 each, and the homeowners will have to repay the organization, perhaps through the insurance proceeds on their destroyed houses.

The houses were designed by Louisiana State University architecture students and built with a combination of paid labor and volunteers.

You can read more about the project on the ACORN web site.

In today's New Orleans Times-Picayune, Sheila Stroup describes the rebuilding of another Lower 9th house, accomplished with the help of volunteers from Maine.

The real story is that, after 18 months, most of the Lower 9th Ward remains uninhabitable.

See also: Mayor Ray Nagin's testimony to the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.

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Posted at 5:40 PM, Feb 25, 2007 in
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