Housebuilding - New Orleans

Splotchy from I, Splotchy made his second trip to New Orleans to work with Habitat for Humanity on building houses in Musicians Village.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced many musicians to flee New Orleans. Jazz, blues, and other genres that are the city's musical score, cannot return until the musicians return, and many have lost their homes. Habitat for Humanity International and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, working with Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, honorary chairs of Operation Home Delivery, seek to change this. Plans were announced Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005 for a "Musicians' Village."

The Musicians' Village, conceived by Connick and Marsalis, will consist of 72 single-family, Habitat-constructed homes for displaced New Orleans musicians and other qualifying Habitat partner families. Its centerpiece will be the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, dedicated to the education and development of homeowners and others who will live nearby. On January 9, 2006 NOAHH acquired eight acres of land in the Upper 9th Ward where the core area of the Musicians' Village will be located. Construction began in March 2006 and as of December 2007 70 single family homes are either complete or under construction! In addition to the homes in the Musicians' Village core site, NOAHH owns and is building on an additional 70 lots in the surrounding Upper 9th Ward neighborhood.

It's lovely that Splotchy worked in Musicians Village! Harry Connick, Jr. is donating part of the proceeds from his latest CD, "Oh, My Nola", to benefit the village. I am hugely grateful to anyone who helps in any way with the recovery in New Orleans. Much has been accomplished, but there is still so much left to do.

Here's what I said in the comments at Splotchy's blog:

Grandmère Mimi said...

Splotchy, thank you, thank you, thank you! I am a native New Orleanian, but I have not lived there for a long time. I live only an hour away, so I visit often. I am so very grateful to anyone who goes to work to help rebuild New Orleans.

I worked with a group from First Draft blog and college students from Elon University gutting a house last April. The picture of the FD group is the second down on the left sidebar at the blog. That was before we started to work and were still clean. It was hard work, but what a great group of folks I worked with. I'd say building is better than gutting. It's shit work, but someone had to do it. How exciting that you got to work in Musicians Village.

I'm going to link to this post and "borrow" a picture, as Fran did, if you don't mind. Again, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for helping in the place that is still the home of my heart.
December 26, 2007 9:27 PM

I'm a-beggin' and I'm a-sellin' like I never did before, but the causes are all good, I promise.

Picture "borrowed" from Splotchy.

Thanks to Fran for the link to Splotchy's post.

UPDATE: You must, you absolutely must go read Splotchy on the "Food, Drink, Music" part of his trip to New Orleans.