Finding Home On Higher Ground

The first three houses on Higher Ground in Allendale

Residents of New Orleans East, Dorothy and Charles Wiley planned to evacuate the Sunday before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. They tried to rent a car, as they didn't trust their car to take them very far, but the car rental agency didn't accept checks.

Fearing the storm, the Wileys gathered their daughter and three grandchildren and went to the Superdome for shelter, thinking they would be there for one night before returning home. Late Monday, when the levees protecting the city failed, their three-bedroom apartment was flooded with over ten feet of water.

Sheltered in the Superdome for four harrowing days, the Wileys realized they could not go home - not then, not ever. The traumatic ordeal temporarily separated the family as they were taken by helicopter to the airport. Charles and their daughter suffering from asthma

Geraldine Smith clutches the Bible signed by the volunteers who helped build her home at her home dedication ceremony

were sent to Houston, while Dorothy and the grandchildren were put on a flight to San Antonio. The family was reunited there and traveled to Shreveport, where they had relatives - where they hoped to make a new start in a new home.

They heard about a new initiative by Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal through a partnership with the Fuller Center for Housing to build homes for hurricane evacuees. Dorothy recounts, "When I heard about the "Building on Higher Ground" program, I knew I needed to apply for one of those houses. When we got approved, there was quite a celebration."

Henry and Geraldine Smith also came to Shreveport to escape the storm. Displaced from their apartment in the heavily damaged St. Bernard public housing development, the Smiths were helped by First Presbyterian Church and Providence House, a shelter for families in the local continuum of care collaborative.

Rebecca Scott and her daughter Jamie evacuated from New Orleans East just ahead of Hurricane Katrina's devastating arrival. Their home in New Orleans was lost completely. Five feet of water ruined everything on the first floor, and mold that accumulated during the water's slow retreat ruined everything on the second floor. Rebecca and Jamie, with only three days' clothing and nothing else, rented a house in Shreveport, and Jamie enrolled as a freshman at Northwood High School. Within a year, they, too, would become homeowners.

The Stubbs family prepares to open the door to their new home

Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal (SBCR) had been working in low-income neighborhoods for over ten years, bringing their unique approach to neighborhood revitalization. Promoting partnerships with residents, volunteers, government, non-profit, civic, business and faith institutions, their relationship-building initiative draws services needed to empower residents and promote neighborhood health. SBCR knew a critical need for the survival and health of any community was the development of safe, decent, affordable housing, with opportunities for homeownership and the economic opportunity and social stability that come with it.

In 2005, working with the city's Community Development staff, SBCR received support from the entitlement city, who used a HUD community development block grant (CDBG) to provide architectural design, zoning and consulting assistance through a local architectural firm.

Charles and Dorothy Wiley with their three grandchildren "On Higher Ground"

Other CDBG funds were utilized for infrastructure improvements in the greater Allendale area and much needed demolition of dilapidated and fire-ravaged structures. This laid the groundwork for ambitious plans for new single-family housing.

In the aftermath of Katrina and Rita, SBCR turned to affordable housing development visionary and SBCR national board member Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity and head of the Fuller Center for Housing. Northwest Louisiana Habitat for Humanity and other community and national partners soon followed. What emerged was an astonishing commitment to build sixty houses in this historic community for hurricane evacuees and low-income residents in a homeownership initiative christened "Building on Higher Ground."

"This was like starting our whole life all over again," said new homeowner Charles Wiley. "I am so thankful. I like homeownership and knowing this is mine. That's a big investment. If I don't have anything else, I have a home to call my own. This is what I will leave to my children."

While Charles works at a new job SBCR helped him find, Dorothy spends long hours working beside volunteers, helping build houses for others. "I love this work," she said. "You meet a lot of wonderful people from all over the place. They are like an extension of God's hands."

The Wiley's neighbors now include four other families displaced by Katrina. Michael and Lashon Stubbs and their two sons were living in an apartment provided by Providence House, a local homeless shelter for families after losing their home in the New Orleans neighborhood of River Ridge. They, too, became Higher Ground homeowners.

Rebecca Scott and daughter Jaime love their new home

Cherie Ashley and her children 4, 6, and 11 from Kenner, moved into a home of their own across the street. Shreveport native Janice Harris and her two sons joined the new homeowners springing up on Clay Street in June.

Rebecca Scott and her daughter Jamie moved into a three-bedroom Higher Ground townhouse built by local church volunteers in August.

In September, after a 10-day blitz build with over 300 volunteers from across the country arriving to participate, evacuees Henry and Geraldine Smith received the keys to their new home. "This is our Christmas in September," said Henry Smith. "We are so grateful. We went from being totally homeless to having our own home."

"I love my new home," Geraldine Smith said as she clutched the Bible signed by volunteers who helped build her new home. "I love Shreveport."