Homeowner Bio

It’s hard for Henry Senez to talk about the recent past. He lost his wife of 25 years in 2004 and he lost everything he owned when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.

As a young man, Henry had a good job as a diesel mechanic. His life changed drastically, however, when one day he was crushed between two buses. Doctors told him he would never walk again, would never be able to have children. Although permanently disabled, Henry went on to prove them wrong. He relearned how to walk. He married and he and his wife raised their two children in St. Bernard Parish amid their large families and friends they had known all their lives. Just a year after his wife’s death, Hurricane Katrina took away their beautiful home and all Henry’s possessions. Everything was lost, not even a photo of his wife remained. Used to his independence in his own home, Henry lives with his daughter and son-in-law now, which is not an easy thing for a 51 year-old man to do.

Henry and his fiancée left St. Bernard Parish around two a.m. the day before Hurricane Katrina hit, bringing with them three days’ worth of clothes. They had locked everything of value in two cars in his garage. They lost the cars and everything in them. They spent twenty-nine hours on the road to Texas. Henry’s large family scattered to locations all over the place, but most of them are back now. His 81- year-old mother had to move to Mandeville, about one hour away. Before, she lived only five minutes away. He calls every night and if he hasn’t called by 10:00, she calls him, making sure he’s OK.

Henry says he wants to stay here because he has a life-long attachment to St. Bernard Parish. “This is my home, this is where I grew up,” he says. “All the people I went to school with had kids and my kids went to school with their kids. I come from a family of seven and all but two still live here. My wife came from a family of ten. There was family on top of family and it was good.”

He goes on to say that everybody was affected someway by the hurricane. His own house had been in a no-flood zone, yet it was destroyed. He remembers seeing a satellite photo of his house after the storm. It had been ripped off its foundation and driven up against the house next door.

Henry has a grandchild and one on the way and his children near him, but “Where do you start now”? he wonders. Henry started by finding a new home. He chose one in an area that had been under only three feet of water. He says he knew what he was looking for. Although he feels that life has thrown him a lot of curved balls, and indeed it has, he says, “The past may have been difficult, but now I look forward.”

Visit Henry's Facebook Page

House Update

6/18/09

5/16/09
Volunteer group "Hammertime" from Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., Boston and Nashville worked alongside volunteers Jennifer and Archana from New York and Unity of the Triangle from North Carolina in Henry's home this week. As a part of SBP's Women's Rebuild, the ladies finished the last bits of drywall, mudded and began painting. The group loved hearing Henry's story and meeting resident Paul Perez at the volunteer dinner.

5/7/09
Last week at Henry's home, volunteers from Bethlehem Lutheran Light of Christ in Longmont, CO., and AmeriCorps NCCC team Gold 4 hung drywall in Henry's home and began mudding. They enjoyed meeting Henry and seeing their progress during the week.

3/13/09
Volunteers from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina worked at Henry's home this week doing mold remediation. They brushed, wiped and kilzed the entire home which is now waiting to be inspected. The Wesley group loved meeting Mr. Senez and had a lot of fun with Site Supervisor Sarah.