CindyLeBlanc and the St.Bernard Parish Project site coordinator Ron LeBlanc St. Bernard Parish Project volunteer from New York

Not another Katrina story. Most of the country has long forgotten them by now. After all, it has been over two years since the hurricane blew in and changed the lives of the people of St. Bernard Parish forever. A natural disaster can happen to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Few natural disasters have or ever will match Katrina’s power and violence. She killed St. Bernard Parish. She left only one habitable house behind. 

The neighborhoods and communities that make up St. Bernard Parish, just southeast of the City of New Orleans are proud of their heritage. Their families and the relatives before them worked in the refineries, they were the local fisherman and shrimpers, retired veterans, and local business owners. They are hard-working middle class Americans who “did everything right”. 

Returning residents to St. Bernard Parish have a long and rocky road home. Their journey has been exhausting and frustrating. One third of the residents have come back to St. Bernard Parish. The majority of those who have returned to the Parish are still living in FEMA travel trailer parks, FEMA trailers in the front yards of the shell of their houses, or in the attics of their damaged homes. Only one fourth of the businesses have been able to reopen. More and more are coming back, but is a slow and painful recovery.

Within the ruins hope rises. One family at a time. There are new Katrina stories of strength and how, with the help of other caring people, insurmountable obstacles can be overcome. St. Bernard Parish residents can recover but never forget.

Ronald LeBlanc grew up in St. Bernard Parish. His wife Cheryl is an Ohio transplant from 20 years back. Ronald is disabled and Cheryl works part time. They lived in a three bedroom brick house in a tidy neighborhood. Cheryl worked hard and had bought the home before they were married.

Ronald and Cheryl's ride out of town promised by a friend before the storm never arrived. They were stuck. “The water rose from a dribble at the front door to the bottom of the roof within eight minutes," explained Cheryl. It happened so fast. They were washed down the street to a house down the block. There they stayed on the neighbor's roof for six days. They were rescued and sent to the convention center in Austin, Texas. Ron and Cheryl stayed in an apartment for 8 months in Austin before deciding to try and return to their uninhabitable house in St. Bernard Parish.

FEMA provided them with a travel trailer and parked it in their front yard. They lived in the trailer as they cleaned and gutted their house. Cheryl visited an elderly friend one day who was being helped by the St. Bernard Parish project. She was put on a waiting list for their assistance. Thirteen weeks later construction was started on their house. They will be out of the FEMA trailer and back in their home one again, thanks to the grassroot St. Bernard Parish Project non-profit organization started by a man and woman from Washington, D.C. 

The St. Bernard Project opened it’s doors in August 2006 and has since rebuilt over 100 houses in St. Bernard Parish. The St. Bernard Parish Project removes barriers for families who wish to move back to their homes in the Parish. The problems faced are easily solved. They need funding and volunteers. Put together, homes get rebuilt and residents finally get to move back home.  To donate funds or volunteer, call St. Bernard Project at 504-277-6831 or visit www.stbernardproject.org.