"SAA!”
“We are…”
“FOR NOLA!!”
Throughout my first two years of high school I had heard the name of a non-profit organization titled “Shirts Across America” around school and how students spent their spring break traveling to New Orleans to build homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina. I did not consider learning more about it or even spending my well-loved spring break helping other people until one of my best friends came back from this adventure and raved about her experience. I decided to attend an informational meeting about the trip my junior year to see for myself what went on during the annual week-long trip to the Big Easy and was immediately sold on wanting to partake on my next spring break.
In the Spring of 2014, I embarked on a journey that would impact my life and perspective of service greatly. When I boarded the plane with sixty other students and chaperones, I began to sense the positivity and community between the volunteers. After I landed in a warm and mildly humid new city, each group of 5 students and one chaperone loaded into a minivan and drove to the community center where we were staying. After settling in, we piled back into the minivans and caravanned around the New Orleans area on a tour. This included seeing the levees that broke during hurricane Katrina allowing immense amounts of water into neighborhoods and citys, modern homes build by Brad Pitt’s relief organization Make It Right, grass fields and concrete slabs where homes stood before the storm, homes still sitting vacant that homeowners have not come back to, and many more interesting places demonstrating the severity of the hurricane. My mental picture of a large put together city I had originally anticipated was drastically changed on this first day when I explored beyond the skyscrapers by driving through communities. After this tour I was well aware of my job as a volunteer and how devastating Katrina actually was. Many people have asked me, “Why are you going to New Orleans when the storm happened almost ten years ago? Hasn’t the city been rebuilt?”, and this tour gave me a visual that I will never be able to express in words. As of a few years ago, about half the city and the surrounding neighborhoods still needed to be rebuilt.
Shirts Across America works with the Saint Bernard Project (SBP) organization which was started a few months after Katrina to rebuild homes. Ameri Corps employees supervise the work of each home and train volunteers on the job. The home I helped construct on was left vacant for eight years after the storm, and through a long process SBP began rebuilding the home to sell as an affordable housing option for families moving back to the area. My primary task for my five days of work was to mud the walls sealing gaps between drywall. I became great friends with other students from my high school who were working on the same house and with our supervisors. I also learned that I can mud walls well and enjoy helping others through selfless action.
When SAA volunteers are not working, we explore the unique, welcoming culture of New Orleans through the food, Hurricane Katrina museum, and much more. The chant that I included at the beginning of this post is the chant that all participants of the trip partake in on the famous Bourbon Street. We “shut down” the street by making a large circle with our student leaders in the middle. The leaders begin by yelling, “who are we?” and the rest of the group responds. This event is complete with Mardi Gras beads and foam glow sticks. SAA does this every year to raise awareness of devastation still around the city and to show our support for the citizens because that is the reason we are in NOLA.
After my first trip, I could not wait until I could go again for the spring break of my senior year. My sister and I wanted to go on this trip so badly that we postponed our family vacation to Hawaii, a place we have always wanted to visit. When I stepped off the plane I was so excited to smell the humidity and could not imagine what was in store for me the following.
The second trip down ended up surpassing the first by a long-shot. Although I repeated many of the same activities, like the tour and Bourbon Street, the difference was that the home I was working on had a family living in it who I could emotionally relate to and assist. This week I focused on repainting a bathroom and finish the home. I became very familiar with the homeowners and they were immensely grateful for our work. The homeowners were in their late sixties and actively involved in the lives of their children and grandchildren. They had experienced construction fraud twice before finding Saint Bernard Project and were very excited to finally be able to live in their home comfortably as they did before Hurricane Katrina.
The most rewarding experience of my two trips was the final day of our work after we completed the home when my group, our supervisor, and the homeowners sat on the newly finished deck, ate authentic Po Boys, and chatted. We listened to the couple’s experience during hurricane Katrina and about their family. We also learned what the neighborhood and city were like prior to the storm. It opened my eyes to the reality of the storm because I could relate to the story and picture myself in the situation.
Through my experiences in New Orleans with Shirts Across America, I learned the true meaning of service and how it impacts others. My ideas and perspective of living in the United States changed because it showed me that the nice, safe, people filled neighborhood and city I live in is unique and gave me an eye opening experience as to how other people in my country live. Communities are in need of assistance in our own “backyard” and I am so grateful that I have been able to see New Orleans and make a difference, one home at a time. My perspective of what service means has changed greatly because I have emotionally connected with the people I assisted. Ten years have passed since Hurricane Katrina disrupted New Orleans and the city still has a large amount of rebuilding to do and thousands of people have not yet returned home to this culture filled city.
My experience with Shirts Across America allowed me to see that service is needed in our country and is not difficult to find. SAA acts upon the motto “bring families home” and that’s exactly what I did on my two trips. I cannot wait to visit New Orleans again and assist the community by bringing families back to the city.
-Sammy Vowles
“Who are we?” |