On Monday, August 29, 2005, Katrina—one of the deadliest storms in the history of the United States—tore through the Gulf Coast and wrecked lives, homes, schools, businesses and more. Four years later, New Orleans businesses and residents alike are still tackling rebuilding and renovation projects. Ms. Kern, a New Orleans homeowner in her 80’s, is one of those residents.

HandsOn New Orleans is currently assisting Ms. Kern with renovating her home. To complete the project, the organization has enlisted the help of skilled volunteers from Titan of Louisiana, a fully licensed and insured general contractor that performs commercial, residential and consulting work throughout Louisiana, Texas and Florida.

"I met Ms. Kern, and those are the type of people you want to help out," said Titan Project Manager Jake Heflin. “It touched us a bit, and we wanted to do what we could, when we could to help out.”

Titan recently completed minor roof work on Ms. Kern's house. They also hung vinyl siding on the back gable of the home, installed house wrap and vapor barrier and fixed a rotted and termite-infested door frame.

"We weren't busy, and we felt it was time to give back," said Heflin. He and Titan of Louisiana Owner Tom Gozdzialski plan to round up additional skilled volunteers to finish the project.

In addition to working with homeowners like Ms. Kern, HandsOn New Orleans is helping to meet other critical community needs across the Greater New Orleans area. The organization joined the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation Saturday, August 29 for the Louisiana, My Heart, My Home Rebuild-a-thon. This city-wide rebuilding effort attracted approximately 400 people.


"I think the service everyone took part in this Saturday is representative of what has been happening for the past four years - groups and individuals giving their time to help someone else or a cause," said Cleveland Spears, President and Founder of Spears Consulting Group, LLC. The New Orleans native worked with the Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation to clear a building and parking lot that will be used as a much-need community health center in Eastern New Orleans.

An "all hands on deck" call went out across the city for volunteers like Spears to take part in the Rebuild-a-thon. Kristin Burlage, a Program Associate with Playworks, learned about the Rebuild-a-thon through the HandsOn New Orleans project calendar. She and other team members picked up litter at a local school and sanded drywall at a home in the Lower 9th Ward for the day of service.

"When I look back to November '05, my first visit to the city after the Hurricane, I see an incredible difference," Burlage said. "Being part of this event helped to show the rest of the country and the world that there are still many needs in this city, and residents and outsiders alike are working together to help meet these needs."

To learn more about the rebuilding efforts underway in the city of New Orleans or how you can help, please e-mail us at kwatsonlewis@handsonneworleans.org.