This spring break, one group of students sacrificed the beach and the slopes for the levees.
Six students headed down to New Orleans to help rebuild homes hit by Hurricane Katrina.
Ash-Lee Henderson, Sarah Olivo, Sissy Lamale, Phaedra Call, Eric Chao and Jared Story all participated in Alternative Spring Break, an organization involving students from all states doing service all over the country.
The group was led by Story, a graduate assistant who coordinated the trip. They went to the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, one of the areas that was hit the hardest and neglected the most. The group wanted to fill the void that various government organizations were unable or unwilling to do for the community.
There are two Ninth Wards, the Upper and Lower. The Lower Ninth Ward was hit the hardest. Many of the houses were completely swept away and pushed out into the roads by the water. “The Lower Ninth Ward was the most overwhelming experience for everyone on the trip,” Story said.
The neighborhoods were abandoned except for the volunteers and the few locals who refused to leave. Most of the trees were destroyed or uprooted and water still filled the streets.
It was unrecognizable to those who lived there before the storm.
The residents face many obstacles. The majority are homeless, living out of state and in hotels. There is little or no support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “All the people we talked to eventually want to come back,” Story said.
What little money people do still have is being spent on repairs. Some over-priced contractors are taking advantage of the situation by charging up to $175 per foot to tarp roofs. That’s where the volunteers came in.
Everything had to be torn down and removed because of the unhealthy living conditions. The houses were infested with asbestos and mold spores.
The long-term effects are estimated to add up to 22 million tons of toxic garbage.
The group had to first spray the houses with a disinfectant solution. Everyone had to wear protective gear as a precaution. They wore special suits, oxygen masks, safety goggles and gloves. “We used a lot of hand sanitizers because it was so dirty in those houses,” Chao said.
It was a dirty job but gutting the houses saved each family about $10,000. “The hardest part was going through their personal items and finding items like baby pictures and kindergarten diplomas,” Call said. “That was really emotional.”
ETSU was not the only school to be a part of the project. The project was sponsored by Common Ground Relief, a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to giving long term support in rebuilding communities affected in the New Orleans area.
For more information, go to the web site at www.commongroundrelief.org.

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