Rebuild, Renew, Rejoice!
Thanks to the outstanding support of Good Shepherd members and the community, we have exceeded our goal to raise $25,000 to rebuild a home in Biloxi destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
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May '06 rebuilding trip photos
May 2006 Rebuilding Trip
Work began in May to rebuild Ms. Helen's home. Ms. Helen is a widow, currently a Head Start teacher, and one year from retirement. Volunteers from Good Shepherd joined Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia and other volunteers from around the country to rebuild Ms. Helen's home. Tremendous progress has been made and we anticipate she will move back into her rebuilt home in July 2006. Download trip reflections (pdf file).
For information on helping with this effort, email Corinne at
Background
In September 2005, a group of Good Shepherd members traveled to Biloxi where we helped remediate or "muck out" homes. This entailed stripping away ruined drywall, flooring, cabinets, etc., then spraying what remained to kill mold and mildew. More
Rebuild, Renew, Rejoice! grew out of this effort. Mucked out houses were still unlivable shells and many of the low-income home owners have few resources to rebuild. According to Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia, the cost to rebuild each of these stripped down homes is $25,000. In December 2005, Good Shepherd kicked off Rebuild, Renew, Rejoice! to help a neighbor by raising $25,000 and rebuilding a hurricane damaged home in Biloxi.
Committee Members:
Corinne,
Bruce, Denise E.
Denise G., Jeannie
Otto, Pastor Schuetze
Robbie, Vicki, Pete
Good Shepherd members contributed generously to Rebuild, Renew, Rejoice!, and with the community, supported a very successful silent auction. Crusader Lutheran in Rockville, Maryland also partnered with us to Rebuild, Renew, Rejoice! September 2005 trip to assist with hurricane clean-up
In September 2005, Bruce, Corinne, Denise, Otto, and Pete went down to Biloxi, MS to help with Hurricane Katrina clean-up efforts. We joined efforts at Bethel Lutheran Church, where they had thrown open their doors to devastated community members and volunteers traveling to the area to help. Bethel quickly mobilized a three-prong relief operation:
- A "store" full of donated food, personal items, and household supplies where the public could take care of immediate basic needs.
- A clinic, staffed by volunteer nurses and doctors offered free medical care to those in need.
- A construction crew that remediated houses that had been flooded, cleared fallen trees, and eventually, would rebuild homes.
At the time we were in Biloxi, the work crews were primarily remediating houses—pulling out carpet, flooring, cupboards, drywall, paneling, insulation, etc., anything that held moisture and kept the structure from drying out, and perpetuated/harbored the growth of mold. When homes were stripped to the studs and outside cover (brick, etc.), they were sprayed with a fungicide to kill any remaining mold and prevent regrowth. As long as it was feasible, this remediation was conducted because having a frame to start with would be an enormous cost savings in the rebuilding. Crew leaders helped residents with inspection logistics and other steps that had to be completed at each stage of the clean-up/rebuilding process. At the time we were there, Bethel work crews had worked in some 20 homes and remediation continues as of December 2005.
Rebuilding their homes is the next step for the those folks whose homes have been remediated. When starting with the frame, it is estimated rebuilding will cost $25,000 per home. Many of the folks assisted through Bethel's efforts have few resources to come up with or secure a loan for this amount of money. That is where we come in—we can help a family, couple, or individual rebuild their home by raising this amount. There is also the opportunity to go down to Mississippi and work with the work crew doing the actual rebuilding.
Biloxi/Bethel Reflections and Updates:
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