November 13 - Our 1st at work day in New Orleans was at this house in Gentilly Woods. When the levee failed all the houses in this neighborhood were flooded with about 9-10 feet of water.

We took down ceilings today and removed a porch that had been destroyed. We took out quite a pile of debris!

Most of the homes here are 1 story, so the water came up to their roof line. Luckily, all the folks in this immediate area had already evacuated. Many are retired teachers. The family we worked with today is one of the few young families...a mom, dad & 3 young children.

The father, Edgar, has been working mightily to clean up his house. He had already gotten everything out, torn down walls, & taken up the floors down to the slab. He works a full time job & has to pay both his mortgage on his "house" and $1900 a month rent for the 2 BR apartment where his family now lives.

We'll go on to another house tomorrow, but Edgar still has many, many obstacles in his way. The damaged timbers all have to be cut out and replaced. It has to be treated for mold. Only then can he think about re-building for his family.

All the houses here have day-glo marks showing when they were searched and what was found. They marked human deaths, as well as status of animals in or around the house.

Jack showing how high the pile is of the "stuff" removed from Edgar's house.

Cindy pointing to the high water marks on Edgar's house.