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)...
Debbie Koehler, Worksite Coordinator, Operation Helping Hands (504.821.7231) wrote:
We have just heard from Miss Rowena.  She got considerably more than expected from the Road Home, but she just cannot go back to the house where her son committed suicide.  So, she has decided to take the buyout and sell her home to the Road Home.  She will be living in New Orleans at her daughter’s house.

... I can do an update of the program and maybe do a profile of another one of our homeowners. 

Currently we 
have 166 homeowners in the program, 
have 19 homes under construction, 
and, (5) five more that are under contract with work to begin shortly, 
and (9) nine homes that have been completed.

Thanks again for your interest in our program and in the lives of our homeowners.

Hurricane Katrina struck just over two years ago ... more...

St. Francis of Assisi Parish community is rebuilding a house in New Orleans to help with recovery from the flood damage of Hurricane Katrina.

We are working with "Operations Helping Hands," a program of Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.  In the past year we have sent 4 groups of volunteers to New Orleans to gut houses and help with the clean-up after Hurricane Katrina.  Now we want to help rebuild one.   Please join us.

For the poor, disabled, and elderly who are helped through Operation Helping Hands, there is an estimated shortfall in funding of approximately $24,000 - $30,000.   St. Francis of Assisi Parish community is going to support the rebuilding with the Lenten project this year to help fill the funding gap.