Bringing New Orleans Back

by Elaine Gast

Volunteers offer service and hope to a city rebuilding.

It's hurricane season on the Gulf Coast. Throughout the region, people are talking about what little has been done -- not only by way of rebuilding and the residents' right of return, but making sure the area is safe from another storm. A long two years later, there are no guarantees.

In a region where hope has been hard to find, there is one bright spot. Hurricane Katrina mobilized Americans from all over the country to head South in the spirit of service. From New Orleans to Biloxi, an estimated 1.1 million volunteers have contributed services worth nearly $263 million in the last two years, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Nic Bonsell, 26, is one of those volunteers. He came to New Orleans from Minnesota in November 2005 to help with the Gulf Coast clean-up. Like many volunteers, Bonsell was only supposed to stay for a couple weeks. Two years later, he's still in New Orleans.

"When I first got here, the city was dead. The power was out, the curfew was still in effect and there were military Humvees driving the streets." Since then, he's seen it grow into a functioning city. "It's 200 times better than what it was back then," he said. "The heart and soul of the city hasn't been lost. The people kept that, and they're trying to bring it back."

Bonsell is committed to helping them. He now serves as construction supervisor at Hands On New Orleans (HONO), a disaster response project of the Hands On Network. Hands On comprises 62 nonprofit organizations worldwide, with a mission to strengthen communities through meaningful volunteer action. Hands On Network now partners with another organization, Hands On USA, to provide a presence of volunteers in the Gulf Coast region.

Volunteer organizations like HONO have been a huge help to the city. "We are making progress, slowly," said Bonsell. "We've been able to make a difference on some of the pressing public health issues -- like mold remediation, trash removal, and gutting houses."

Last fall, the city required people to gut their homes or tear them down. As homeowners scrambled to save their properties, volunteers from nonprofits and churches came to their rescue.

Gutting a house is no easy task. It requires a team of people, suited in protective gear, to clear everything out of abandoned homes -- clothes, dishes, washers, dryers, everything. Next, the walls come down, including the molding, sheetrock, and wires. When all's said and done, the only thing that remains is the skeleton of a home: the structural studs, outside walls, the roof, and the floor.

If done commercially, gutting can cost between $3,000 and $15,000, but volunteers provided the service for free. This gave homeowners who may not have been able to afford the costs of labor the option of rebuilding or selling.

In another small victory for the people, a community-initiated group called the Common Ground Collective sent teams of volunteers out mowing lawns and replanting greenery, among many other relief activities. According to volunteer Ted Cash, a 24-year-old from Chino, Calif., mowing grass is more important than it sounds. "The city has been fining people for uncut lawns -- even on homes where the people aren't able to move back in. If any grass goes uncut, the city threatens to repossess those houses. So we mow grass in the Lower 9th."

Cash said that Common Ground is moving away from direct relief and looking to long-term advocacy and recovery work. His role is to offer technical support for Common Ground and other nonprofits in the city. "I set up computer networks for local nonprofits, and opened a free computer lab for people in neighborhoods to go online." He is working on setting up a wireless network at two public housing sites, and is seeking equipment donations to do so.  

Cash has been in New Orleans off and on for more than a year. "It's all volunteer work. Common Ground pays for my food and housing -- and by that I mean, I sleep in my office," he said. "But I feel like I have to stay. If I wasn't here, I don't know anyone else who would do it."

In spite of spartan living conditions, many volunteers have fallen in love with the broken city, and are committed to seeing it come back. "My family was skeptical of me being down here, until they came to visit. When they saw the projects we were doing, and experienced the city and the music, then they understood," said HONO human resources manager Kristin Burlage. "Once you see it, you want to help rebuild it. Living down here, I feel like I'm part of something larger than myself."

Nic Bonsell would agree. "It's an amazing time in the history of New Orleans. Volunteer movement has mobilized people around the country, so to be a part of that is really something." Plus, volunteerism has its perks. "I've met highly intelligent, motivated and passionate people. I'm also building my personal skills -- not only in construction, but in areas like grant writing." He's thinking of going back to school for his master's degree when he leaves.

As for the people of New Orleans, they say they feel blessed to have so many volunteers on their side. "While waiting for the federal, state, and city government to do things they are unable or unwilling to do, the volunteers have been there for us," said New Orleans native Seth Knudsen. "In order for change to continue, though, we're going to need a similar level of volunteerism over the next eight to ten years."

Bonsell doesn't know how long he'll be there, but he's guessing at least another year. "To see the homeowners we're helping, that's what matters," he said. "We're part of the rebuilding of New Orleans. We're part of the change."


To find out more about volunteering in New Orleans or the Gulf Coast, visit USA Freedom Corps or VolunteerMatch. To volunteer with or donate to Hands On New Orleans or the Common Ground Collective, contact the organizations directly.


Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Elaine Gast is a writer and communications consultant for nonprofits, foundations, membership associations, businesses, and individuals. She has authored six books, contributed to Fodor's Travel Publications, and published articles in numerous magazines and newspapers.  Elaine is president of Four Winds Writing, Inc.