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PHOTOS
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Photo up-date (11/30/2007)...  
  To date (11/30/2007)...
Lucille Taylor is typical New Orleans Many of our homeowners are like Ms. Lucille Hills. Lucille Hills is as New Orleans as they come. A wonderful cook who is devoted to her two children, she has spent her life working hard and trying to do the right thing. As Hurricane Katrina approached, she evacuated to Douglasville, Georgia, a small town south of Atlanta. Her son Willie was teaching school there at the time. She would end up staying there for three months before returning home to live with family friends in Marrero. Nearly two years later, that is where she still lives. Needles to say, Miss Lucille is anxious to get back in her home at 1940 Congress Street. Congress Street has been a home for her, Willie, and daughter Joycelyn for the last 35 years. Miss Lucille is retired from the Orleans Parish School board, after serving as a cafeteria cook at W.C. C. Claiborne elementary school in Gentilly Woods. She was “Mama Hills” to so many of the children at that school, lending a supportive ear, a safety pin to tidy up a shirt or even socks when they needed those. She worked two other jobs, in addition to the one at school, sometimes not getting back home till 10 p.m. at night. Miss Lucille now has diabetes and needs a knee operation. Getting back home will be the perfect remedy for her. So, on behalf of Miss Lucille and hundreds of others who
will be helped by our program, we thank you. The generosity of you
and many others will never be forgotten.
To date (9/21/2007)...
... I can do an update of the program and maybe do a profile of another one of our homeowners. Currently we
Thanks again for your interest in our program and in the lives of our homeowners. ----------------------------- Thinking about New Orleans: An Update about our Adopt-a-House/Rebuild-a-Home Lenten Appeal Hurricane Katrina struck just over two years ago and brought catastrophic damage to the city of New Orleans and states along the Gulf Coast. The community of St. Francis acted swiftly. We had special collections in September. We sent cards and personal care kits in October. We had our first conversation with Fr. Bernard of St. Paul the Apostle in November, and during Lent 06 we welcomed Fr. Bernard to Ann Arbor to kick off our tile drive. We raised enough money to replace the floor in the church, and many of our parishioners have visited the church and seen the beautiful tile floor. But we choose to do more to help the recovery effort. During our Lenten Appeal this year 2007, we participated in “Adopt-a-House/Rebuild-a-Home” through Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Each week we read the story of Rowena Duplissis, and we raised $24,237.20 to help in the rebuilding of her home and others. (St. Francis Parish Contributions total $24,237.20 as of 4/30/07.) It is important to realize that for legal reasons the money does not go directly or only to her but instead is used to help any of the homeowners who are ready to proceed with building through Catholic Charities. At this time, Ms. Duplessis has not received any money from the federal or state government and cannot yet proceed with rebuilding because the money from Catholic Charities is only part of all that is needed. Last month Ms. Duplessis was featured in USA Today as facing difficulties but remaining hopeful. We followed up with Catholic Charities and can confirm that they remain committed to helping her when she is ready. We will keep you informed of her situation. What then has happened with the money raised by St. Francis for Adopt-a-Home? One of our parishioners visited New Orleans in May and was taken on a tour by Catholic Charities to see what our money is accomplishing. In July we published in the St. Francis Parish FORUM and in the CANTICLE a progress report with photos about Ms. Doris Aubry’s home and others helped by Catholic Charities New Orleans using funds, which include the $24,237.20, collected and donated by St. Francis Parish members. (Funding to-date for the program at Catholic Charities New Orleans is about $2 million dollars from all sources including individuals, groups, churches, foundations, corporations and businesses, and CCUSA.) To date, seven homes have been completed. Nine more are under construction. Five are under contract, and four more are being worked on by groups of volunteers. 170 homeowners are in various stages of working with Catholic Charities. Most of those 170 homeowners are still in the application stage. See the progress & photos at: stfrancisa2.com/adopt-a-house/ When our next group of “GOING SOUTH” volunteers goes to New Orleans in 2008 to help with clean-up and rebuilding, we will again ask to see first hand what our money has accomplished. We will meet with Catholic Charities, and we will visit homes that have been completed and are under construction. The pace of reconstruction and recovery seems so slow to those of us who are not there all the time; how must it feel to live with it everyday? Perhaps the words of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow are appropriate: Though the mills of God grind slowly,
Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build
a house for the sanctuary:
To date (5/20/2007), Catholic Charities have gutted 1800 homes and senior apartments. The renovations have begun thanks to the joint efforts of various volunteer groups under the Catholic Charities organization and Habitat for Humanity for 2 examples. Note: Again financial support like our Parish has sent for Ms. Rowena's home & other homes are invaluable contributions.
This photo here is taken of our children of St. Francis Parish
while they were decorating brown paper sacks with color and descriptive-stickers
for the Adopt-a-House / Rebuild-a-Home.
Return to Adopt-a-House Rebuild-a-Home Questions: contact: or . St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Parish Social Ministry
Office,
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