45 n' J.C.

November 21-25th, 2011

Mud. Mud. Mud. We've come to affectionately call it (thanks to the Queens University ladies) - the 45, and the J.C. (joint compound).

A fantastic, warmer than normal week!

These peeps not only decided to volunteer for the week - BUT they even chose to do so despite it being Thanksgiving. No gathering around the dinner table with friends and family - instead, the ladies from Queens University in NC served Thanksgiving dinner at the Convention Center downtown, and then went to their volunteer housing and made their OWN Thanksgiving dinner Annnnnnd they gave me 2nds on Friday... awesome, awesome, people. Thanks ladies for all your service this week throughout the city!


Queens University of NC were with me all week!


Kait, Kariel, Alecia, and Chelsea

I met Tom back in September(ish). He's the roommate of my SBP friend & coworker, Josh. Ironically, Tom and I got to know each other much better the weekend before he volunteered - and soon came to find out he'd be helping with Miss Yolanda's house for 3 days with me! It was a blessing, as he and his friend Kaycee helped get my bathrooms underway. Both Tom and Kaycee are fellow AmeriCorps members, and work at Langston Hughes and Bard College.


Tom n' Kaycee in their 'mudders' gear... with us M-W

I've had couples volunteer with me. I've had mother-daughter pairs help me. I've never had an entire family volunteer with me, and OH MY GOSH was it crazy, and a blast! The crew of Annie & Andy, with Liz, Emily, Mark, and Tiffany were all family/friend & bf... Some moments I felt like I was hanging out with the Brady Bunch, and then i'd turn the corner, and hear things like "you're not good at that. Eew oooo gosh. Maybe you should find something else to do.." then a ''shut up'' ... so i'd come intervene, and they would be laughing or actually switching jobs. Hahaaha it was all in good fun and made me miss the 'family dynamic' that comes with the territory of being siblings and working with your parents... huh, don't sound like a foreign tale to me!


Mark & Annie (F)


Liz and Tiffany (F)


Andy & Emily (F)

Friday I also had a couple join who had volunteered with the project all week, but were sent to my site on the last day due to some equipment breaking at another house. Rick & Becky (perhaps the only Wyoming'ins that I know) RV-trip the United States every winter to escape the cold. They have no plans, but to be in Florida on the 18th of December. The two of them floated a lot of Miss Yolanda's bedroom, and would return the following week as well (so, more on them later!)


Rick & Becky from Wyoming! (F)

Miss Yolanda's house is coming along.... trying, trying, trying to get her home by Christmas. We're all working hard for it!

Nunsense.

St. John's Lutheran Stone Church - Harmony, PA

I was raised Lutheran. My mom and dad took us to church every Sunday, where my sister and I would join the 4 other kids that were part of the congregation for Sunday School. Our Sunday School teacher was also our Pre-K teacher, and nearly half of the 40-or-so members were farmers. Small, cute, and personal.



I got a lot of ‘Catholic’ exposure through my aunt & uncle’s church, where my sister and I attended when my parents had to work. Quite frankly, mass was a LOT of work! Up, down, kneel, sing, wear fancy clothes, scoot around 1000 people, couldn’t have communion, up, down, kneel, cross your arms shoulders elbows knees eyeballs… it was just --- phew.

So, on Saturday the 12th, I read the schedule to find I would be leading a group of nuns. Flashbacks of the days in that big ol’ Catholic church flooded my mind. I started thinking about the nuns that I’d met at Kaki & Ray’s church. As I remembered them, the nuns at St. Margaret Mary’s were quiet, gentle, and soft-spoken...– I needed the nuns to hang heavy, 12 ft-long, ½ inch thick, sheets of drywall in 5 rooms for Miss Yolanda…


My "kindergartners"

Then I scrolled down to the number of volunteers I should expect for the week.

TWENTY-THREE.



I didn’t sleep much on Sunday night. That’s 10 more people than I’d ever lead, even though I would have ½ the crew working with Luanne at preparing the house for vinyl siding…

I made sure to eat my Wheaties, and headed to the site Monday morning. Around 8:30 my first volunteer arrived, Tim, a Canadian who has lived quite an adventurous life, and is traveling North & Central America with his girlfriend, Sandra. Tim had volunteered the previous week at another site. “Hey, Tim, did they tell you who else is volunteering with you?” …”nope” … “twenty-two nuns.” … Tim chuckled, and I joined him. There’s something about the image of 22 women dressed in black robes and hats hanging drywall…and having Tim be the only man of the group.



Cars pulled up from every angle around 10:00, and soon the house was filled with chitter chatter. We had 5 men join the crowd, which then opened my eyes to the fact that “nuns build” doesn’t mean that only nuns would be joining us – but also men & women who attend the Catholic church as well.

Twenty-Four people on one site. All mass-goers, providing mass progress, amidst mass chaos. End result? Mass success.

We had 11 people outside of the house working on scraping paint, painting the porch, boxing in the eaves of the roof, and prepping other areas for vinyl siding. Jack, Tim, Mike, Kathy, Kathy, Jill, Sara, Donna, Ludy, Maureen, and Lori. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the Project, Sara & Jill were used elsewhere during the week to effectively use their mechanics & electrical backgrounds. Luanne helped lead this crew Monday through Wednesday. The group was so amiable & motivated, that after Luanne left on Wednesday, they continued to basically lead themselves on the house Thursday and Friday. The house porch was spic n’ span by Friday, white as can be, and about 7/8 of the one side of the house had vinyl siding. All the eaves were boxed in too, thanks to Josh, a 19-year-old guy who was just walking by the house on Wednesday, decided to volunteer for the day, and continued to come back for Thursday and Friday as well.



The interior of the house is more my specialty, and so we had 12 people or so that took ownership of drywalling the rooms of the house.

I usually try to match up skill levels, physical ability, and the comfort of a volunteer with a task that would appeal to them, and would also best suit them.

“Cash Bill” and “100-dollah-Bill” and John were consistently my ceiling sheetrockers. I’m sure they’re probably still sore to this day.

SRM, Carole, Janet, Marie-ce, Theresa, Betty Jane, Margaret, and Marty tackled closets, and walls that needed drywall. Rooms were being completed before my eyes, and I became deaf to the sound of the drill bit sinking screws. I found that Terry, one of the nuns, was very skilled and soon I had her hanging ceiling sheetrock for closets and tackling tasks alone, which she was more than happy to do. It took until Friday before she pulled me aside (after having just come down off a ladder, mudding the ceiling) …. “Leisl. I just want you to know… I’m Eighty.” Well I’ll be darned. “Never slow down, stay active, love life.”
Amen, Sister (I’ve never said that literally). Amen.



The house has walls! I was very blessed to work with such a large, driven, happy group – who also got a ton done for Miss Yolanda. This will certainly be a week I will always remember.

Thank you, Jack, Tim, $100 Bill, Cash Bill, Mike, Josh, John, Tyrone, Janet, SRM, Carole, Marie-ce, Theresa, Betty Jane, Terry, Kathy (vinyl), Kathy (mudder), Jill, Sara, Donna, Ludy, Margaret, Marty, Lori, and Maureen.

What they accomplished!:

Siding


Kitchen is coming along!


Big Bathroom




Miss Yolanda's Bedroom!

Miss Mary cuts the ribbon to her new home :)

See the news story for Miss Mary’s home here:
www.abc26.com/news/local/wgno-elderly-woman-no-longer-lives-in-ratinfested-home-20111121,0,3192550.story?track=rss

Miss Mary was always on my butt about things. “Where’s my tub? What about my stove, where’s it gonna go? What’s this thing doing here? When ya goin’ to be done? I’m movin’ in on the 15th!”

Apparently she was just the same to the Jefferson Parish President, who had originally been informed about Miss Mary’s former living conditions. “When ya gonna do something bout my house? I ain’t still moved in, ya know! I’ll keep lookin for you til my house is finished.”



I'm soOooo thankful to have been placed with Miss Mary at her home in Marrero. The stories are endless, and I couldn't have asked for a better home, a better list of volunteers, or a better homeowner to begin with.

We had Miss Mary’s Welcome Home Party on Monday, November 21st.

The Parish President was there, Zack (SBP cofounder), United Way representatives, and friends of Mary and volunteers with SBP. Mary repeatedly said “I love everybody.” “I love you all.” It’s a great thing to see and hear the appreciation for the work that you’ve helped accomplish. I wish all the past volunteers could have been there with us.

Story of the day: Mary stood on the steps of her home, and was presented with a red-ribbon bow attached to a key, to represent her returning home. Mary smiled, took the key, looked at it a minute, and replied – “well, I already got three of these keys in my purse!”



Yes, Mary, yes you do. Haha she is something else, and I’m having a little bit of mixed feelings about no longer getting to visit with Mary and hear her funny stories.



If any of you wish to send Mary any welcome home cards or the like, send them to 661 Francis St. Marrero, LA

They. Need. YOU.

I’ve begun to forget what it means to volunteer. I’ve caught myself sometimes forgetting the amount of time that people are taking out of their ‘real’ lives, as well as the amount of money they spend to come down and help someone in need. I’ve come to simply EXPECT these huge-hearted people to fall into my lap, ready to accomplish what’s next, and continue on with the progress of the house.

I’ve started to get comfortable with my role as a site supervisor. Though, I’m not entirely sure that it’s the best thing for what I’m down here to accomplish. They say that nurses get hardened to the sight of blood… am I beginning to harden to just how special these 'volunteers' are?

Every day is the same. I wake up at 6:30am, make my lunch, eat breakfast, and leave my house at 7:20. I arrive on site, clean up a bit, get prepared for the day, and then the volunteers arrive to GET THINGS DONE (AmeriCorps terms, for ya)

Monday, it didn’t happen like that. Volunteers never arrived at Miss Yolanda’s house. In fact, volunteers didn’t arrive at several of the 20 homes that SBP is working on. All the work that KPMG accomplished, just hung on the walls and the ceilings. Somebody was supposed to start where they finished, but nobody was there to do the job. SBP only had 30 people signed up to volunteer for the week, and unfortunately (for Miss Yolanda and me), they weren’t placed at my site.

The house is supposed to be finished by Christmas. But, there's still a TON to do before then. As a matter of fact, on Monday, I counted the days – 45 days til the 22nd, the day I leave to return to my own home, for Christmas. 45 days, but only 34-40 work days…

On Monday, I really had a gut check. That’s 34-40 days IF …IF, I have volunteers to help me. Monday, I had no volunteers. Tuesday, no volunteers.

BUT- I found out Tuesday night that I would be having 8 volunteers from NJ and NY Wednesday through Friday. I was ecstatic to get some progress going on the house – though I had this unrealistic fear that there would be cobwebs and dust when I reentered Miss Yolanda’s home on Wednesday morning.





We were blessed with such a great group - they flew down for only four nights in new orleans, and spent every day elbow-deep in work.

Audrey & Maggie are multiple year returnees who have served with SBP and other non-profits since Katrina. They are very inspirational women, and have organized several furniture drives in the past, as well as being huge advocates for getting young people involved in service.



Lori & Lorig (totally didn’t realize on the first day that they nearly had the same name so I kept thinking I had forgotten Lori’s name haha ooops sorry Lori!) were workhorses and were able to finish drywalling the smaller of the two bathrooms – which is awesome, because (fingers crossed!) maybe we’ll get a toilet in there in the next couple weeks!



Wendy & Dyane brought their 12-year-old daughters, Blair & Gabby, to get their hands dirty and better understand what it means to give back. The girls documented their work (oh yes, I’m a movie star now!) and are hoping to inspire others to become involved in helping New Orleanians return home – so so cool!

We nearly finished all the drywall in the kitchen, and had I ordered more purple board in time, we would have both bathrooms finished. Just a little more work in the bigger bathroom, and those three rooms will be ready to begin mudding!



I’ve spent the past couple days reflecting. Why I’m here, and why other people come here to help. Without the group from NJ & NY, Miss Yolanda’s home would STILL be just as KPMG left it. But now, the house continues to progress, and I sure hope that other people out there are just as inspired and just as giving as the volunteers I’ve had over the past 6-8 weeks. Because, on Wednesday, I was finally able to TRULY understand just how much of a difference each one of them makes. Without you guys, nothing would get done.

Thanks again, y’all are great.

Lookeeee what they did!

Bathroom #1 is done, and #2 is sooooo close


Kitchen is nearly complete!


From the front door


Hallway in front of the right bathroom

Git down the fiddle

There are few moments in one’s life where you could appropriately drag along your violin to a construction worksite. So when the opportunity arose, you betcha I took it.

Three crazy high school girls joined up with Marissa, my roommate, to work on the house that she has been leading. We didn’t have enough volunteers to continue building at Miss Yolanda’s, so I was pulled over to Marissa’s site to help mud on Monday & Tuesday.



The brigade was Emma, Katherine, Danielle & their English teacher, Kathy – all 4 of them spent those two days learning all the tricks of sanding and mudding a bedroom to get the rooms ready for primer and paint.



You go a little crazy when you mud, sand, mud, sand, etc. Plus, these girls were high schoolers on an adventure in New Orleans – they were a little crazy too (just kidding girls, just kidding!) In two days we had a couple miniature dance parties, and on Tuesday afternoon I brought my violin because Emma & Danielle play! We really broke it down – not literally, but it was awesome.



I didn’t find out til Tuesday evening that I wouldn’t be joining them for the remainder of the week. I was ecstatic to begin working on Miss Yolanda’s home again, though it stunk to leave the girls without a proper goodbye.

So, instead, we all met up for Chinese food later in the week, and went out to ‘Rock n’ Bowl’ for bowling and a concert by Kermit Ruffins on Friday. Don't know the last time I ran up on stage like that... haha even if I am 10 yrs older than all the girls! Good times had by all :)

Welcome Home Party!

Just wanted to say

"MARY's MOVING HOOOOOME!"

November 21st!!!!

United Way is planning the big shindig, so I'm not sure how it's all going down, but it will be an awesome welcome-home party if you are in the area! Email me: leisl.soergel@stbernardproject.org

Awesome <3

The Lower 9th Ward

Ten THOUSAND families are still displaced from Katrina. The number is astounding, and seems far-fetched. Really? Ten THOUSAND? It’s one of those numbers that you assume they calculate in a college statistics class and take a quadrant of the city, see how many people haven’t returned, and then just multiply that number x amount of times. Accurate? At first, I really didn’t see how it could be possible. But I stand at Miss Yolanda's door, and I can see at least 5 houses (or vacant lots) of those who haven't been able to spend a holiday at home in the past six years.


House across the street from Miss Yolanda's home (many homes now look like this)

There are eight chickens that live outside Ms. Yolanda’s house. I see them every morning around 7:45, where they strut around the street, pecking at the ground, scoffing at cars, like they’re the ones with rights to the asphalt. The street, once home to perhaps 30 homes, is now specked with buildings like a poorly played tetris game. There may be four houses on the street with a clean paint job, but many homes are simply obliterated, or vacant. The chickens seem like the only ones who really belong.



The first time I drove to the lower 9th ward to visit Miss Yolanda’s home, I was greeted with tunes blaring from the (only) neighbor’s pickup at 7:30 in the morning. I suppose there are some, though few, perks to living on a street that doesn’t have kids still sleeping at that hour. He came over to chat with me, and pointed out some things that I should fix – it was my first day at the house, and perhaps a little forward, but it’s pretty cool that he is watching over Miss Yolanda’s home so carefully. Perhaps having a neighbor again is one of his greatest wishes.

Danyelle’s convenience store is right on the corner of the street, where the few locals that are in the area congregate beginning at 9 in the morning. The building is clearly marked “no loitering” …or rather “no loTTering” …and even more interesting “no loTTTering” – but it doesn’t seem to sway anyone from hanging around and shooting-the-shit. I went in to check out their snack selection the other day, tapped the glass at the counter for the milky way bar that was trapped behind the pane, and had a little chat with the cashier. It’s no secret that the St. Bernard Project is in the neighborhood; it’s nice to feel welcomed.



I can’t even begin to think what all these people have gone through. Every person has a story – EVERY person. The lower 9th ward was one of the hardest hit areas after the levees broke. Many peoples’ homes were leveled from the impact of the water, and even more shifted off their foundations, or sat in 8-20 ft of water.

I haven’t met Miss Yolanda yet. I’ve been working at her home a total of 6 days now with volunteers, and I’ll update y’all on her story when I can hear it straight from her. What I do know, is that her and the 3 children (2, 6, and 12 at the time) stayed during the storm. And the story, what I know, is frightful from there.

I finished Miss Mary’s house on November 2nd, and started with 13 volunteers on Miss Yolanda’s house November 3rd, 2011.
KPMG pulled up to the house on Thursday, adorned in long-sleeves, ready to tackle the task at hand.


Thanks to Mike, Trista, Angela, Keith, Jeff, Roger, Jessica, Tom, Karien, Tym, Adam, Joe, Phil, Nicole and to the New Orleans & Baton Rouge(rs) that rotated working with us on Thursday and Friday.

INSULATION.

I have mixed feelings about installing insulation. It’s a relatively easy task – but having to suit up like a Hazmat team to keep from taking home fiberglass in our eyeballs, arms, hands, and nostrils just makes for awkward first impressions. I learned to identify members of the group with masks & goggles strapped to their faces – the second day when we began drywall, the masks & goggles were gone – it was like trying to learn a whole new crew again! They looked so …normal.



So, over the course of 3 days, we insulated the exterior walls of the house, and the attic, and the bathrooms – as well as hung drywall on all but 3 ceilings, and hung the walls for about 2 ½ rooms. The showers now have the cement board which will ultimately be the support for tiles. It was awesome, and the house is really beginning to take shape. Even Sarge said we got a lot done (now that SAYS somethin!)



On Saturday night we all went out for some Zydeco music & good food at Mulates near the Riverwalk to celebrate a great week :) I’ll miss you guys, thanks so much! So, the goal for the house? Home for the Holidays - we're gonna try our darndest.


Miss Yolanda's home


The interior from the front door. 3 BR, 2 Bath, a kitchen, living room, and family room.


View from the back door in the kitchen


One of the two bathrooms

AFTER!


Kitchen!


Family Room (TB Miss Yolanda's bedroom)

We Did It!

Miss Mary smiled, lipstick blaring red- “I’ve got a new house now.”

Myself and 3 other cohorts – Marissa, Megan, and Catherine- all attended Miss Mary’s church this morning. We were welcomed with warm smiles, firm handshakes, and several comments along the lines of ‘‘job well done.” I saw many familiar faces that have stopped by Mary’s house the past month or two, and we exchanged stories (setting off the alarm was top of the list haha). As the service neared, we all scootched into the pew behind Miss Mary.

“You know, I really wanted that tub IN the house” Mary boldly stated.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah Miss Mary, I know it! You haven’t forgotten to tell me that!” I laughed
“Annd I want-"
I gave her a big grin, stopped her, and jokingly said-
“Miss Mary, now isn’t the time to tell me what you want! I’m not about to go changing things now, I’m finished!”
Miss Mary smiled warmly. “I’ve got a new house now.”


Marissa, Megan, and Catherine make Mary's tub into a flower planter

She isn’t one to sugar coat nothin’. She is stubborn, she knows what she wants, and she’ll bug the heck out of ya til she either A) gets what she wants or B) til the cows come home. (and she'd agree with me on all of that!) Mary wants to be home. And she knows that I’m the one leading the swinging of the hammers, and so every day she would press – when can I move in? (or, even better yet, "I'm moving in.")

Her excitement to move home was palpable today… I'm so excited for her.

This past Tuesday, there were 3 volunteers who came to help finish the punchlist at Mary's house. Len, Kathy, and Peter all came to help out for the week, but would find themselves being shuffled around to a different house for T-F. Marissa & Josh (fellow site sup’s) also came to the Westbank to help me out. Marissa & Josh spent the majority of the day under the house TyVek’ing the insulation. Len, Kathy, and Peter were scraping windows, painting, recaulking, and cleaning floors- they finished all the work inside the house, so that the following day I just had a few small tasks to complete. Thanks you three!


Peter & Len goofin' around... get back to work!

Wednesday, Marissa & I spent the entire day together finishing out the punchlist. Unfortunately, we poorly timed the installation of the shower’s handicap bars, and couldn’t finish due to breaking a tiling bit, and being unable to figure out how to install the tub handles… we stayed til 6 trying to get everything else looking perfect.


Tuesdays crew- Marissa, Me, Kathy, Len, and Peter (Josh taking the photo!)

Thursday I started work on my new house, with 13 volunteers, a room full of insulation, and 104 sheets of drywall.

I was excited to start on a new home, but felt like I needed some decompressing time after finishing Mary’s house. A little reflection time. Seeing a house go through the stages to completion is an incredible feeling. There was lots of blood, sweat, and tears put into that house, with many different peoples imprints left in the walls, the floors, the rafters. Though the house is currently vacant, I am able to reflect on the many groups that have come through, and know that the house radiates with love. I go back to the APO girls who installed the last few sheets of drywall, to Raj spending days using 45-mud, to Lydia from the NY group who left great messages of God’s love on the backs of baseboard, to the sisters Moni & Anna who climbed under the house to install insulation. I get to be captain of an incredible team that often doesn’t get to meet each other, but continues to work off each other’s progress – its so cool!
So to those of you who’ve helped along the way, THANK YOU.

I’ve heard through the grapevine that the Jefferson Parish wants to have a big party for Mary (and we, SBP, want to too!)… info about that will be forthcoming.

Oh, and thanks to Maryanne & Val who donated a Home Depot gift card to make Mary’s tub into a planter in the backyard! We planted everything today, looks great ☺




Mary's bedroom!


Front (spare) bedroom


Kitchen


Utility Room


Pretty shower!


We coulda used this about 2 months ago... haha


From kitchen to bathroom