The organization was founded in March 2006 by Liz McCartney and Zack Rosenburg, who previously lived and worked in Washington, DC.[3][4] They came from a charitable background: Rosenburg's law office represented indigents and McCartney ran a nonprofit group, the Capitol Hill Computer Corner, which trained the economically disadvantaged in computer skills.[4] They first came to New Orleans, along with McCartney's mother,[5] in January 2006 to offer their help for a month towards relief efforts, and ended up in St. Bernard Parish.[4][6] All 27,000 of the zone's houses had been damaged or destroyed, and Rosenburg resolved to come back.[4] After going home and tying up loose ends, they returned with plans of building a community center, a camp for kids, and a tool-sharing co-op, but soon realized that the local population had more urgent needs.[4] A local repairman, Frank White (whose business had been destroyed in the storm) trained the couple in construction and allowed them to use his space for their nascent organization in exchange for their help in repairing it.[4] While rebuilding homes with their growing skills, McCartney used her history as a grant writer to seek foundation and corporate funding, and the couple toured the nation presenting the program to potential donors and volunteers.[4]
Mission
SBP's stated mission is to shrink the time between disaster and full recovery by ensuring that disaster-impacted citizens and communities recover in a prompt, efficient and predictable manner,[7] reducing "construction time by 30 percent and costs by 10 to 15 percent."[8] To do this, the project uses an "Under One Roof" model, incorporating the many facets of a volunteer-based rebuilding program into one entity. The project recruits and trains volunteers, provides skilled site managers, provides health services, and coordinates fundraising. SBP also started a Center for Wellness and Mental Health that provided mental health services for citizens who are unable to pay for it elsewhere.[5][9] By its fifth anniversary, the organization had expanded to include rebuilding efforts in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Joplin, Missouri; Columbia, South Carolina; New Jersey; New York; and West Virginia.[10] As new disasters arise, SBP re-assesses to place offices in zones with greatest need, and each office has a corresponding executive director. As of 2020[update], those directors are:
The project has three distinct programs,[citation needed] all of which target the specific needs of different groups in the community: the Rebuilding Program, the Affordable Rental/First Time Homeowners Program, and the Veteran's Initiative.
Rebuild
The Owner-Occupied Rebuilding Program is a volunteer-driven program that evaluates the need of homeowners and then either supplies skilled labor to help them rebuild their homes, or, if the homeowner cannot afford them on their own, provides building materials paid for by donations. The Rebuilding Program can rebuild a home in 12 weeks, for around US$75,000.[11]
Opportunity Housing Program
The Affordable Rental/First Time Homeowners Program aims to provide housing options to senior and disabled residents of SBP who face 50% increases in rental rates since hurricane Katrina.[citation needed]
Veteran's Initiative
SBP's veterans programs are focused on addressing three problems: high unemployment rate among men and women who have served in the US armed forces; affordable housing crisis; and high incidence of blighted and vacant properties in the New Orleans area. By hiring and training veterans in residential construction and paying them fair and livable wages and benefits, SBP can both increase its workforce to rebuild homes, and improve blighted and vacant properties and neighborhoods.
The Good Work Good Pay Program utilizes a trained workforce to build or rebuild affordable homes and to stabilize blighted, vacant, and disaster-impacted communities. These employees primarily complete electric, plumbing and carpentry work for the Rebuilding Program and Opportunity Housing Program, thereby minimizing SBP's need for subcontractors, speeding and reducing the cost of projects.[12]
Accomplishments
By June 2007, SBP had completed more than 30 homes, and had 20 more projects in the works.[3] That same month, the New Orleans Shell Shockers' players, coaches, and staff volunteered with the organization's building efforts.[3] In October 2007, Boeing made a $10000 donation to be used between SBP and the Beacon of Hope Research Center.[13] By September 2008, their annual budget had reached $2.7 million in donations, and they managed a staff of 32, many of which were affiliated with AmeriCorps.[4] Additionally, they had completed a total of 145, and 36 projects were underway.[4] In May 2009, SPB hosted its third annual Women's Rebuild Week,[14] an event started in 2006.[6] Over 200 women pledged to donate time to reconstruction efforts.[14] In October 2009, the organization hosted its inaugural Nuns' Build Week, inviting women from the Women Religious group first established in New Orleans in 1727.[15] In 2010, organization began to provide assistance to fishermen affected by what came to be known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[9]
President Barack Obama spoke at Xavier University in August 2010 on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.[16] Highlighting the "dedicated public servants" of New Orleans, he remarked of SPB that "this endeavor has drawn volunteers from across the country to rebuild hundreds of homes throughout St. Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward."[16] The following week, Oprah Winfrey announced the traveling company of The Color Purple would be raising funds for the organization along with the novel's author, Alice Walker.[17] Shortly thereafter, SBP and similar disaster relief organizations drew criticism for being complicit by not speaking out again the "blood relative" ordinance, forbidding homeowners to rent to persons who were not blood relatives, which critics asserted was an act of de facto racism against Jews and blacks.[17] SBP denied the allegations, asserting that they were not an advocacy group and that 30 percent of the homes they had rebuilt had been those of African-Americans.[17]
In March 2011, the cast of Days of Our Lives volunteered with SPB as part of their promotional book tour for Days of our Lives 45 Years: A Celebration in Photos.[18]
Toyota announced on June 29, 2011, the launch of a national program to donate its Toyota Production System expertise towards nonprofit organizations with goal of improving their operations, extending their reach, and increasing their impact.[19] By September, less than three months later, SPB reported that their home rebuilds had been reduced from 12 to 18 weeks, to 6 weeks.[20] Additionally, employing Toyota methods (like kaizen[21]) had reduced construction errors by 50 percent.[20] The company included SBP among its first 20 community organizations, along with AmeriCorps.[19]
The American Institute of Architects announced in June 2013 at CGI America (an annual event of the Clinton Global Initiative) the creation of "Designing Recovery," a design contest in partnership with the charities Make It Right, SBP, and Architecture for Humanity.[26] Sponsored by Dow Building Solutions, a total of $30,000 in prize money was divided equally among three winning designs in New Orleans, Louisiana, Joplin, Missouri, and New York City.[26] Entrants submitted single-family housing designs with the objective of "improving the quality, diversity and resiliency of the housing in each community."[26] Organizers made the portfolio of designs (even from non-winners) available to communities recovering from natural disasters.[26]
Zurich Insurance Group began a relationship with SBP at its Zurich Classic golf tournament in New Orleans.[27] Over the next five years, more than 1,000 Zurich employees, customers, brokers, and distributors volunteered with SBP to rebuild homes in New Orleans, Staten Island and Joplin, until in April 2014, the company announced that its Z Zurich Foundation would give SBP a $3 million grant over three years.[27] The grant would go towards creating a Disaster Resilience and Recovery Lab—a disaster relief model that propagates best practices learned in New Orleans after Katrina to communities affected by future disasters.[27] Additionally, in response to the increasing number of deadly storms between 2010 and 2013, Farmers Insurance began "researching a model that municipalities across the United States could use to significantly reduce the time required for residential recovery." Teaming with SBP, the result was the Disaster Recovery Playbook, an evolving online resource.[28][29] Since the guide's initial creation, AmeriCorps has been brought onto the team.[30]
In September 2015, SBP broke ground its new headquarters, moving from Chalmette to a 25,000-square-foot former salvage company on Toulouse Street as part of a $7.2 million relocation effort.[31] The building is also serves as the national hub for the Disaster Resilience and Recovery Lab.[31] The organization continues to have satellite offices in New York and New Jersey.[31] The organization moved into its new space in May 2016, leasing their previous building to organizations such as the Trust for Public Land and Louisiana Green Corps.[32] Along with the move, the organization officially shortened its name from St. Bernard Project to SBP, as its work had spread beyond St. Bernard Parish, reaching throughout New Orleans and eventually the country.[33]
After a family spent five years displaced after Hurricane Sandy, J.F. Kiely Construction Co. partnered with SBP in August 2016, to get the family back in their home.[34] Kiely team members volunteered a combined 260 hours towards the project, and the homeowner and his son were able to move back into their home on June 28, 2017.[34] SBP maintains a New York office in the Rockaways where they maintain a "Wall of Waiting," featuring homes that need extensive work in areas such as Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.[1]
After the destruction of Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, Toyota Motor North America, announced a collaboration with Toyota Financial Services, The Friedkin Group, Gulf States Toyota and Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide to offer a combined relief effort of more than $3 million to relief organizations, including SBP.[35]J. J. Watt, defensive end for the Houston Texans, raised an unexpected $37 million towards the relief efforts,[36] and so consulted SBP and Team Rubicon for how to best spend the funds.[37] Harvey Home Connect is an app by SBP that survivors can use to apply for assistance. SBP then compiles the necessary documentation to help complete an assistance package and deliver it to the right organization.[38]
SBP first sent AmeriCorps members to Puerto Rico in October 2017, but by July 2018 it began a long-term recovery effort by canvassing neighborhoods and prioritizing homeowners based on their level of need. The organization has set the goal of repairing 100 homes in the first year.[citation needed]
Media appearances
During season two of Retire My Room, makeover web series for retired seniors, SBP, Friends of Rockaway featured the bedroom remodels for two families who were victims of natural disasters.[39] The episodes were posted in 2014.[39] In the fall of 2016, Jonathan and Drew Scott of the Property Brothers filmed the program Brothers Take New Orleans, and competed in the renovation of a traditional "shotgun house" duplex in New Orleans that was built in 1904.[40] The house's owner was displaced after damage caused by Hurricane Katrina; a fraudulent contractor then took her renovation money without completing the work.[41] The home had been uninhabited for 11 years when the brothers worked with SBP to completely restore the home.[41]
Awards and accolades
In 2007 McCartney and Rosenburg were included in Gambit's 40 under 40 list of successful young New Orleanians.[6]
On May 3, 2008, Senator Mary Landrieu presented McCartney and Rosenburg with the Heroes of the Storm Award.[42]
McCartney and Rosenburg received the Manhattan Institute, Social Entrepreneurship Award in 2008.[43]
On November 27, 2008, Liz McCartney and the St. Bernard Project were recognized for its efforts in a ceremony by CNN, titled CNN Heroes, by carrying home the Hero of the year award.[44]
On January 5, 2009, McCartney and Rosenburg were named Gambit's New Orleanians of the Year 2008.[45]
In July 2009, SBP was included among 50 companies that CityBusiness included among its 2009 Innovator of the Year honorees.[46]
St. Bernard Parish is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area; the parish is located southeast of the city of New Orleans and comprises the Chandeleur Islands and Chandeleur Sound in the east.
Chalmette is a census-designated place (CDP) in, and the parish seat of, St. Bernard Parish in southeastern Louisiana, United States. The 2010 census reported that Chalmette had 16,751 people; 2011 population was listed as 17,119; however, the pre-Katrina population was 32,069 at the 2000 census. At the 2020 U.S. census, its population rebounded to 21,562. Chalmette is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner metropolitan statistical area. Chalmette is located east of downtown New Orleans and south of Arabi, towards Lake Borgne.
Waveland is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city of Waveland was incorporated in 1972. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,435. Waveland was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Camille on August 17, 1969, and by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.
WWOZ is a non-profit community-supported radio station in New Orleans. It is owned by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. The station specializes in music from or relating to the cultural heritage of New Orleans and the surrounding region of Louisiana. The playlist includes jazz, blues, local, regional and world music.
Clarence Raymond Joseph Nagin Jr. is an American former politician who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Hurricane Katrina was a devastating and deadly Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused 1,836 fatalities and damages estimated between $97.4 billion to $145.5 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. At the time, it was the costliest tropical cyclone on record, later tied by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Katrina was the twelfth tropical cyclone, the fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States, gauged by barometric pressure.
The disaster recovery response to Hurricane Katrina in late 2005 included U.S. federal government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), state and local-level agencies, federal and National Guard soldiers, non-governmental organizations, charities, and private individuals. Tens of thousands of volunteers and troops responded or were deployed to the disaster; most in the affected area but also throughout the U.S. at shelters set up in at least 19 states.
Hurricane Katrina had many social effects, due the significant loss and disruption of lives it caused. The number of fatalities, direct and indirect, related to Katrina is 1,833 and over 400,000 people were left homeless. The hurricane left hundreds of thousands of people without access to their homes or jobs, it separated people from relatives, and caused both physical and mental distress on those who suffered through the storm and its aftermath, such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The reconstruction of New Orleans refers to the rebuilding process endured by the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the city on August 29, 2005. The storm caused levees to fail, releasing tens of billions of gallons of water. The levee failure contributed to extensive flooding in the New Orleans area and surrounding parishes. About 80% of all structures in Orleans Parish sustained water damage. Over 204,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and more than 800,000 citizens displaced—the greatest displacement in the United States since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Wind damage was less severe than predicted. The damage that took place that needed to be repaired cost about $125 billion.
The Lower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As the name implies, it is part of the 9th Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Industrial Canal; however, the City Planning Commission divides this area into the Lower Ninth Ward and Holy Cross neighborhoods.
Emergency Communities was a volunteer organization which formed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It provided meals and other relief to residents and emergency responders, first in Mississippi, then in Louisiana. Emergency Communities ran sites in St. Bernard Parish, Plaquemines Parish, and Orleans Parish's Lower Ninth Ward, and then closed its doors on Thanksgiving of 2007. Nonprofit organization lowernine.org took the reins with regard to Emergency Communities' rebuild work, and continues to work on Eldorado Street rebuilding homes for residents of this devastated community. As of June 2009, lowernine.org has rebuilt twenty homes, in addition to working on hundreds of projects large and small across the community.
Camp Hope is a volunteer base camp located in a former school in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Camp Hope has welcomed people from all over the United States and all over the world who have come to participate in the massive recovery efforts of St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Internally displaced persons in the United States are people from the Gulf States region in the southern United States, most notably New Orleans, Louisiana, who were forced to leave their homes because of the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and were unable to return because of a multitude of factors, and are collectively known as the Gulf Coast diaspora and by standard definition considered IDPs. At their peak, hurricane evacuee shelters housed 273,000 people and, later, FEMA trailers housed at least 114,000 households. Even a decade after Hurricane Katrina, many victims who were forced to relocate were still unable to return home.
Green Light New Orleans (GLNO) is a nonprofit organization based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The environmentally conscious organization works to reduce carbon emissions through the replacement of traditional, non-environmentally friendly bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). Ultimately, the organization aims to remove all of the city's incandescent lights and replace them with CFL lights.
The Community Center of St Bernard (CCSTB) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Arabi, Louisiana, in St Bernard Parish near New Orleans. The Community Center was founded in 2006 to serve local residents after the overwhelming devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The center was closed briefly during Hurricane Gustav, but was able to reopen almost immediately after the storm. The purpose of the Community Center is to assist local residents in their return to their homes, and to help normalize life.
Liz McCartney cofounded SBP in March 2006 to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in the St. Bernard Parish of Louisiana, southeast of New Orleans. She is the 2008 CNN Hero of the Year and was nominated for CNN Superhero of the Decade.
Camp Restore is a Christian organization that operates a shelter for up to 240 people at the Prince of Peace Lutheran church in New Orleans East. First opened on September 10, 2006, these accommodations are used to house volunteers from across the United States as they help rebuild homes and buildings in the surrounding communities that had been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. It also has locations in Baton Rouge and Detroit.
All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The organization's current structure formed in late 2017, when two existing nonprofits, All Hands Volunteers and Happy Hearts Fund merged to become All Hands and Hearts. All Hands Volunteers was founded in September 2005 by philanthropist and businessman David Campbell to provide relief to residents in areas affected by natural disasters worldwide. Happy Hearts Fund, founded by philanthropist and supermodel, Petra Němcová, sought a similar goal, to help communities recover after a disaster event. All Hands and Hearts is based in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.
In August 2016, prolonged rainfall from an unpredictable storm resulted in catastrophic flooding in the state of Louisiana, United States; thousands of houses and businesses were submerged. Louisiana's governor, John Bel Edwards, called the disaster a "historic, unprecedented flooding event" and declared a state of emergency. Many rivers and waterways, particularly the Amite and Comite rivers, reached record levels, and rainfall exceeded 20 inches (510 mm) in multiple parishes.
Michael Leonard Hecht is an American economic developer and businessman based in New Orleans, who is currently President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc, the post-Hurricane Katrina economic development organization for the New Orleans region. Hecht has previously led the post-Katrina Business Recovery Program for the State of Louisiana, and the post-9/11 Small Business Assistance Program for New York City.
References
1 2 3 BELLAFANTE, GINIA (September 3, 2017). "Hard Lessons From Sandy". New York Times. 166 (57709, Metropolitan): 1–4.
1 2 3 CityBusiness Staff (June 4, 2007). "New Orleans Shell Shockers take break from soccer to rebuild homes". New Orleans CityBusiness.{{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help)
1 2 Eck, Christopher (2010). The Story of Gumbo Yah-Yah the Blue Alligator and the Big Storm (1sted.). Roswell, Georgia: Blue Gator Books. p.4. ISBN9780615392813.
1 2 3 Winkler-Schmit, David; Andert, Sarah; Goyette, Caroline; Power Graves, Kandace; Price, Todd A.; Sullivan, Meg (November 6, 2007). "Gambit's 40 Under 40 (2007)". Gambit. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
↑ Dickey, Christopher (September 19, 2011). "THE REBUILDERS: ZACK ROSENBURG & LIZ MCCARTNEY". Newsweek. 158 (12): 41.
1 2 Sandberg, L. Anders; Sandberg, Tor (2010). Climate Change: Who's Carrying the Burden?: the Chilly Climates of the Global Environment Dilemma. Canadian Centre Policy Alternatives. p.180. ISBN9781926888064.
↑ CityBusiness Staff (December 3, 2007). "Boeing touts Ares work in New Orleans". New Orleans CityBusiness (LA).{{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help)
1 2 CityBusiness Staff (May 11, 2009). "Women's Rebuild project targets 20 homes in St. Bernard". New Orleans CityBusiness (LA).{{cite journal}}: |author1= has generic name (help)
↑ CityBusiness Staff (October 6, 2009). "Nuns volunteer with St. Bernard Project to rebuild homes in New Orleans area". New Orleans CityBusiness (LA).{{cite journal}}: |author1= has generic name (help)
1 2 3 Flaherty, Jordan (2010). Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six. Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket Books. pp.130–131. ISBN9781608460656.
1 2 Toyota (September 21, 2011). "Toyota Helps to Speed Post-Katrina Homebuilding, Reports Major New Orleans Nonprofit". Business Wire (Press release).
↑ BOSS, SUZIE (Winter 2012). "Engineering Higher Efficiency". Stanford Social Innovation Review. 10 (1): 56–57. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
↑ "American Standard To Donate Products To Rebuild New Orleans". Supply House Times. 54 (6): 8. August 2011.
1 2 3 "Zurich and St. Bernard Project Use Lessons Learned Post Hurricane Katrina To Help Communities Across America". Insurance Broadcasting: 1. April 25, 2014.
↑ PR Newswire (May 20, 2014). "Farmers Insurance Along With St. Bernard Project, Launch The 'Disaster Recovery Playbook'" (Press release). Los Angeles, California. PR Newswire US.
↑ "Toyota Motor North America collaborates with Toyota Financial Services, The Friedkin Group, Gulf States Toyota and Toyota and Lexus dealers". Auto Business News. August 31, 2017.
↑ CityBusiness Staff (July 27, 2009). "New Orleans CityBusiness names Innovators of the Year for 2009". New Orleans CityBusiness (LA).{{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help)
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