Foundation has built 120 shelters for Katrina victims —with more on the way
Even before Hurricane Katrina made landfall last August, Pearlington, Mississippi, was a hurting town. Located 45 miles northeast of New Orleans, the value of the towns’ aging homes was well below the state average. Its elevation—8′ above sea level—guaranteed that a pounding 28′ storm surge would destroy many of those homes, and replace them with a fleet of cramped FEMA trailers.
One year later, the news crews have thinned out and relief organizations have moved in—among them the Charlottesville-based Building Goodness Foundation. The nonprofit—which was founded in 1999 by local building contractors Jack Stoner, Michael Cernik and Howard Pape—has constructed houses, schools and hospitals around the globe. From here to Haiti, donations have kept the foundation hammering away at its stated goal: improving lives and building community. Beginning last October, volunteers added Mississippi to the list, calling their Katrina work “CPR” (short for Charlottesville-Pearlington Relief). To date, 120 12′ x 16′ wooden shelters have been erected, says Pat Bean, the foundation’s office manager.
These days, volunteers are the news, according to the many former residents. Almost immediately after this country’s worst natural disaster hit the Gulf Coast, land speculators stormed the region. One displaced homeowner, writing on his blog, called the rampant profiteering “urban renewal by hurricane.” Statistics for Hancock County show that most in Pearlington were homeowners, not renters. Those who clung to their roots, and the rubble of their old foundations, faced an uncertain future amid tents, tarps and trailers.
With many families still roughing it in the closet-size FEMA trailers, Bean says, the extra living and storage space has been critical. Those who receive the sheds are chosen through a lottery system “with preference given to the elderly, the disabled, and families with young children,” according to a June report by the foundation. Since last October, Bean says, 17 work trips have been carried out, drawing on the labor of 166 volunteers. With the recent completion of Phase 1—shelter building—the foundation has now started fundraising for Phase 2: rebuilding a community center. The estimated cost of the project, which BGF is spearheading with contributions from other relief organizations, is $400,000. They have already raised $317,000. But it’s not over yet, Bean says. The need is great, storm season has arrived, and the foundation has added yet another goal: 75 more shelters.—Sheila Pell
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