On the Ground Before and After Hurricane Isaac

NeighborWorks America has made significant investments in the Gulf region to help rebuild post-disasters, and this includes those areas like New Orleans which were devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. For an inside perspective on the impact of the recent Hurricane Isaac, we contacted James Ross, a NeighborWorks America employee on the ground in New Orleans. 

By James Ross
Management Consultant, Southern District

Hurricane Isaac, image courtesy
of NASA Goddard, Creative Commons

Hurricane Isaac hit on late on Tuesday, August 28, 2012, almost exactly seven years after Katrina, bringing with it painful memories and panic lines in residents’ faces. At church the previous Sunday, my preacher told everyone to evacuate — and people took him seriously.  Throughout the region, everyone was rushing to stores to get batteries and fill up their cars with gas, leading to long lines and high prices at the gas stations.

My family and I decided to weather the storm at home because the stress and expense of evacuation was more than we felt was worthwhile for the predicted category 1 hurricane. True to forecasts, Isaac turned out be significantly less force than Katrina’s category 4 strength. However, Isaac was slow and stayed over New Orleans for two days, causing a large amount of flooding and power outages. The power at our home went out quickly and stayed that way for six days.  After three days in the heat and darkness, we moved to my in-laws house, in Orleans Parish because they were lucky enough to have electricity. 

All told, there was significant damage to the storm, but a much smaller loss of life than we had seven years ago. With Isaac, one of the biggest issues was a lack of power.  After Katrina, the local utility company, Entergy, started charging an extra fee which was to go toward infrastructure improvements.  While newer communities have underground power, older communities had power lines fallen in the street — and, of course, no electricity.  To protect its employees, Entergy waited until winds had calmed before sending out work crews. This angered some people who felt repairs should have been made earlier, and led to lots of finger pointing, which is typical of New Orleans.

Image of Plaquemines Parish flooding, courtesy of Creative Commons

The new levy system, installed by the Army Corps of Engineers in the wake of Katrina, held up well.  However, some areas were outside the federal levee system, and they experienced heavy flooding and damage. Plaquemines Parishwater, for example, flooded up to the rooftops and cows and horses battled the waters to survive.  Some cows even ended up in people’s homes as the animals tried to make it to higher ground and safe haven. In another flood zone, Braithwaite, two people drowned because they couldn’t get out of their homes.

As a NeighborWorks employee, I took steps before and after the storm to check in on our local allies. The Friday before we got at least two phone numbers from each of our affiliates and our partners in those areas predicted to be impacted by the storm. Later, I reached out to all our network organizations, talking via text messages and Facebook to make sure everything was ok, which people really appreciated. 

The Southern District is planning to assist organizations in impacted areas.  So far, NeighborWorks America has issued $110,000 in new grant funds to our partners impacted by Isaac in Louisiana and Mississippi. The grants will increase these organizations' capacity to coordinate outreach and volunteer efforts in their targeted communities.  A full list of the recipient groups is below:

United Houma Nation: ($35,000) United Houma Nation’s area of concentration includes lower Jefferson, Terrebonne & Plaquemines parishes which includes the cities of Braithwaite, Houma and Lafitte which all experienced significant damage and home loss due to the floods. In Houma, the United Houma Nation, a Louisiana state recognized Native American tribe, estimates a total of 3,300 tribal citizens were directly impacted by Hurricane Isaac. This represents 25 percent of the total population of tribal citizens residing within the UHN service area.

Hope Community Development Agency: ($20,000) Hope Community Development Agency seeks to enhance its outreach to the residents/homeowners in Biloxi, Mississippi affected by the flooding along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The agency is also focusing on assisting Biloxi’s elderly population with emergency home repairs. The grant will provide needed resources to organize and execute a volunteer outreach campaign.

Hancock Housing Resource Center: ($30,000) The property damages caused by Hurricane Isaac drastically increased the demand for Hancock Housing Resource Center services. The grant will increase HHRC capacity to provide home repair/minor rehab project for residents of hard hit areas of Bay St. Louis and Waveland.

Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans: ($25,000) There was massive flooding on the north shore, including the city of Covington. Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans is providing services to this community.

One Year Later: NeighborWorks and Post-Disaster Community Rebuilding

The tornadoes were powerful enough to  not
not only destroy homes but also buildings.

On April 27, 2011, a swath of tornadoes devastated communities across the southeast, resulting in 324 tornado-related deaths across six states. Recently, a NeighborWorks America team spent three days touring a number of affected communities. The visit bore witness to the rebuilding efforts being carried out by local NeighborWorks organizations.

At the invitation of NeighborWorks network member, Community Action Partnership (The Partnership), Congressman Robert Aderholt (Alabama - 4th district) joined the group as it toured sites in his district. “As we remember one-year ago today, my thoughts and prayers are with all those that were affected by the devastating storms that ripped through our state and changed our lives forever,” said Congressman Aderholt. “However the damage, destruction and loss of life that was suffered on April 27, 2011, did not break us...In the wake of such devastation, we came together. The unprecedented storms brought unprecedented coordination between first responders and emergency teams, elected officials and government agencies, and countless relief and faith-based organizations. There were neighbors helping neighbors and oftentimes strangers helping strangers.”

Opening of Housing Resource Center in Phil Campbell, Alabama. (l-r) Relationship Manager Dollie Whittle, Director of Field Operations Robert Burns, The Partnership’s Chief Outcomes Officer Jack Green, Congressman Robert Aderholt and son Robert Hayes, and The Partnership’s Executive Director Mike Tubbs.

NeighborWorks America, through its Southern District, based in Atlanta, has facilitated the development of a comprehensive collaborative service delivery strategy for Alabama that reflected shared goals and incorporated the strengths of key network members. “Faced with a challenging economy and the recent disasters, the NeighborWorks network members thought it was necessary to work collaboratively to provide needed services to communities across the state,” said District Director Donald Phoenix. “The key was to help organizations rally around common challenges and capitalize on each other’s strengths to create market-driven solutions for Alabama residents in need.”

The NeighborWorks organizations helping Alabama communities recover include The Partnership, Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham (NHSB), Community Service Programs (CSP), and the Kentucky-based network member Fahe (also known as the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises).

New homeowner Kim Cole is flanked by
Jack Green, the Partnership and
Congressman Aderholt

In the aftermath of the disaster, CSP’s executive director Cynthia Burton explained that she used funding from NeighborWorks America to provide medical care, gas cards and, in one location, a grocery and resource store for residents.

In West Liberty, Kentucky, 73 businesses were destroyed and more than 400 homes were ruined or made uninhabitable. FAHE is using $50,000 from NeighborWorks America to cover expenses related to food, water, temporary shelter and home restoration.

John Colon, executive director of NHSB, is currently focused on constructing houses that offer additional protection and savings opportunity for residents. “NHSB plans to build two single-family, energy-efficient homes utilizing some of the best building technologies available today,” he said. “In addition to energy efficiency, each home will feature resistance against stronger winds and an underground storm shelter for greater protection."

This forward thinking approach is characteristic of NeighborWorks efforts in post-disaster areas. In our last fiscal year, NeighborWorks America made more than $1.7 million in grants to NeighborWorks organizations assisting in recovery from tornadoes and hurricanes, and we continue to support long-term rebuilding efforts in Gulf communities seven years after Hurricane Katrina.

To read the incredible stories about disaster survival and recovery in Alabama, download this presentation.

Inspiration from New Orleans

By Alexandra Chaikin,
Online Media Project Manager

For the past four days I’ve been very lucky. I have been working in the vibrant, complex city of New Orleans at the NeighborWorks Training Institute, meeting many of the people who make positive social and economic change possible in communities across this country.

Every day I’ve heard new stories of success and transformation – turning superfund sites into urban gardens, empowering residents to build anew after Katrina, partnering with banks to stem foreclosures, the list could go on. What’s been most striking to me is the accumulated knowledge of the conference attendees and their willingness to share that knowledge, and receive knowledge from others, in service of the greater good.

I also saw with clarity the importance of NeighborWorks training division staff in making this exchange of ideas possible. I believe passionately in the value of online media (hence my title!), but it is the in-person conversations that often inspire new or improved courses of action. I applaud our staff for their work behind the scenes organizing the classes and meetings in a way that enabled these discussions.

For those of you who could not attend, or who want a quick reference for inspiration, here were some of my favorite quotes and photos:

Photo by Chad Klawetter via Instagram

“Our city is not in a rebuilding phase; it is in an opportunity phase.”
–Brian Lawlor, director of housing policy, City of New Orleans at resident leadership symposium

 “The Community Building and Organizing program has already surpassed its goal of developing 7000 resident leaders.”
–Eileen Fitzgerald, CEO of NeighborWorksAmerica at CB&O dinner

“The challenge is to constantly expand ordinary people's self confidence.”
–Marie Kennedy, keynote speaker at resident leadership symposium

The photo and quotes were submitted via Twitter. You can see more on our Storify page. You can also visit the Leaders for Communities site for materials and discussion related to the May 9 symposium on resident leadership. To learn about all of NeighborWorks' efforts in the Gulf, visit our website.

NeighborWorks America Assists New Orleans in Launching a $52 Million First Time Homebuyer Initiative



New Orleans’s Mayor Mitch Landrieu announces
the $52 Million First Time Homebuyer Initiative
at a press conference on October 27. NeighborWorks
Southern District Senior Program Coordinator Donna Tally
and City of New Orleans’ Director of Housing Policy
Brian Lawlor are on the Mayor’s left.


NeighborWorks America’s Southern District is providing technical assistance to the City of New Orleans’ Office of Community Development to execute a $52.3 million soft second mortgage homebuyer assistance initiative that will provide hundreds of New Orleans families an opportunity to become homeowners. The initiative is designed to strategically promote homeownership opportunities for low and moderate income residents and families who are buying their first homes.

“We know that promoting and incentivizing homeownership is key in revitalizing our neighborhoods across the city,” said Mayor Landrieu at a press conference announcing the program on October 27. “This program will put Hurricane Katrina recovery dollars to use for their intended purpose – helping the citizens of New Orleans rebuild their lives and neighborhoods post-Katrina. It will also reduce blight and stimulate the local economy.”

Mayor Landrieu said that this has truly been a partnership between the public, private, faith-based and nonprofit sectors. He thanked all partners, including NeighborWorks America, for their role in getting the program up and running.

Southern District Senior Program Coordinator Donna Tally, under the leadership of District Director Donald Phoenix, created a partnership with City of New Orleans’s Director of Housing Policy Brian Lawlor to provide technical assistance for this initiative. NeighborWorks worked with the city’s staff to design, develop, and deliver the program, providing technical assistance to develop the underwriting criteria, the mechanics required to run the program, and the training for local lender partners.

“This is a great example of the power of partnership,” said Tally. “Mayor Mitch Landrieu put the right people together and things started happening. NeighborWorks America is proud to be part of the team that designed and delivered this program because our investment will pay exponential dividends for families and communities across the Crescent City.”

“The investment of these funds will help neighborhoods in New Orleans reach a tipping point in sustainability as the recovery continues,” said Phoenix. “NeighborWorks America’s Southern District is honored to play an instrumental role in the delivery of this program, the largest of its kind in the City of New Orleans. We look forward to an ongoing partnership with Mayor Landrieu and the City of New Orleans.”

The press conference announcing the soft second homebuyer initiative is available for viewing on YouTube.