Robert and Amy Barlow’s dream is to move into a place they and their three young children can call home. The Barlow’s have not had a place they could truly call their own for nearly five years.
Amy (28) and Robert (29) grew up in St. Bernard Parish and have lived there all of their lives. Shortly after Robert and Amy were married they moved to Violet, LA and started a family with the birth of their first son, Robert III, in August of 2003.
When Robert and Amy heard the news that Hurricane Katrina was headed their way, they evacuated with their young son to Bastrop, LA. They stayed in Bastrop for several days before traveling onward to Waggaman, a community located on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
Together, the Barlow family, consisting of thirteen extended family members, rented a small house together. Each family lived in one room of the house. While this was far from the ideal living situation, the young family relied on their family for support and remained here for almost six months.
The Barlow family returned to St. Bernard Parish after Katrina, because it’s “home.” Moreover, the family could not imagine living anywhere else. When they returned, they, like countless others, found their home completely destroyed. Katrina and its destruction took everything they family owned. Robert made an attempt to salvage the family’s personal possessions from the wreckage, but his effort, was, by and large, fruitless.
So it was only after the Barlow family secured a F.E.M.A. trailer that they were able to return to St. Bernard. Their trailer sat in the same exact place where their home had once stood. In March of 2006, Amy and Robert had their second child, Ayden. Not long after Ayden’s birth, Robert and Amy noticed that he was having trouble breathing. It was later discovered that Ayden had developed an asthmatic condition due to the presence of formaldehyde in the trailer. As a result, the young and growing family moved into a small two-bedroom rental house in St. Bernard, where they remain today.
In July of 2008, the couple had their third child, Kaleb. With this recent addition to their family, the Barlow’s current rental home is no longer a suitable living space for their family. Quite recently, the Barlow family received a modest Road Home grant, which they allocated toward a down payment on a home in Meraux, LA. The house they purchased remains uninhabitable as it sustained serious structural damage during Hurricane Katrina. Currently, the Barlow family is in a difficult position: they are struggling to pay the mortgage for a house they cannot yet live in; moreover, the rent for the two-bedroom home has more than doubled since moving in.
The Barlow family has turned to the St. Bernard Project because they trust SBP will be able to get them into this home, which is big enough for them to raise their children in a safe environment.
May 14, 2010
April 22, 2010
April 9, 2010
April 1, 2010
March 24, 2010
March 18, 2010
House Updates
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Under Construction
Some of our homes currently under Construction
Barbara Williams, New Orleans, LA
Brenda Dupre-Williams, Lower 9th
Chana King, Violet, LA
Clarence and Diane Victorian, New Orleans East, LA
Cologero Caillouet, Chalmette, LA
Darren Anderson, Violet, LA
Darryn Carreras, Chalmette, LA
Darrell Betha, Mereaux, LA
David Lagrange, Arabi, LA
David Melerine, St Bernard, LA
Deborah Vita, Violet, LA
Debra Brown, Gentilly, LA
Delia Doty, Chalmette, LA
Donald & Tonya Topey, Violet, LA
Donnell Barthelemy, Violet, LA
Donnie Panarello, Chalmette, LA
Evelyn Solis, Chalmette, LA
Gerry Bierria, New Orleans, LA
Glenda Ceaser, Violet, LA
Jennifer Lanier, Violet, LA
Joycelyn and Lawrence Stokes, St. Bernard, LA
Joyce Guient, New Orleans, LA
Juan Toledo, Arabi, LA
Keith Florane, Chalmette, LA
Kenneth Burrell, Arabi, LA
Kenneth Dorsey, Lower 9th
Kwame & Dominique Adansi-Bona, Gentilly, LA
Mathilda & August Miller, Chalmette, LA
Mona Lisa Payne, New Orleans, LA
Ralph Dipadova, Chalmette, LA
Rebecca Holmes, St. Bernard, LA
Regina Beal, Violet, LA
Rhonda Krantz, St. Bernard, LA
Ricky Diecidue, Meraux, LA
Robert & Amy Barlow, Meraux, LA
Roosevelt Houston, Lower 9th
Sabrina Pacaccio, Violet, LA
Shane & Tina Meshell, Meraux, LA
Sharen Williams, Arabi, LA
Theresa McLuckey, Chalmette, LA
Vanessa Havers, St. Bernard, LA
Velma Lewis, New Orleans, LA
Willie Major, Violet, LA
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