HUD Secretary Welcomes Home Wiltz Family--St Bernard Project -- Help Rebuild New Orleans

HUD Secretary Welcomes Home Wiltz Family

Monday, June 22 marked an historic day for the St. Bernard Project, as a Cabinet member volunteered with us and we celebrated a new era in New Orleans.

Shaun Donovan, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spent the morning mudding a New Orleans East home of Ms. Allen, alongside his family, staff and leaders from other New Orleans nonprofits. After Donovan had the opportunity to meet with Ms. Allen and speak about the damage in her home post-Katrina, SBP co-founder Zack led an orientation for volunteers, reminding them of the great amount of work still to be accomplished, nearly four years after the storm.

Donovan, who has renovated his own home and several others, was eager to dig in to familiar work with the guidance of Paul Baldwin, SBP construction manager. Baldwin said he was proud of the Secretary's work ethic in record New Orleans heat.

"He and his staff were excited to get to work," Baldwin said. "It was nice to see him volunteer and give us support."

A family (and community) affair

Donovan was not alone in his drive, though, as his wife, Liza, and two sons, Lucas and Milo, joined the Secretary to mud, tape and mark studs. In addition to the family's work, Janet Woodka, Gulf Coast Rebuilding Coordinator with the Department of Homeland Security diligently added to the efforts, in addition to several HUD staff members and invited guests from local organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together, Unity and Phoenix of New Orleans. SBP Co-founder Liz, who volunteered side-by-side with the guests, said it was inspirational to see so many people hard at work.

"Working alongside other nonprofit leaders was a great opportunity to discuss our shared goals and realize how solvable the housing problems are in the New Orleans area," she said.

Next stop: Gentilly

After a productive morning, Donovan and his crew moved on to a Gentilly home that has been making waves within the SBP community. Not only was this home SBP's first rebuild in the struggling neighborhood, but it was also completed at breakneck pace for its special homeowners. Volunteers completed the home of Kenneth and Barbara Wiltz in only five weeks, working two shifts each day for three of the weeks to give the elderly couple a completed bedroom and bathroom in which to live while SBP worked on the rest of the home. See sidebox for more about the Wiltz family.

After a tour of the Wiltz family's completed interior, the Donovan family went to work on the exterior, planting flowers in the front yard as a final touch in the moments leading up to the welcome home party.

More than 200 guests, including Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu and Louisiana Congressman Joseph Cao, attended the celebration of SBP's first completed Gentilly home, which was made possible through a generous grant from Entergy (Read more about the partnership of powering people home). At the ceremony, Sec. Donovan recounted his last visit with SBP in March, which was his first trip in office. One of his stops was at the home of Mr. Scurich, our 200th completed home, and Donovan lauded SBP's volunteer efforts.

"What was heartening was people like you who came from around the country to contribute your time, your energy, and your dedication to make every one of these 221 houses possible," Donovan said. "I saw real leadership from Zack and Liz and from a lot of folks here in New Orleans who have figured out how to make this model work to get the help they need."

Donovan also expressed his dedication to the New Orleans area, pledging to help families return home.

"You have my personal commitment and the President's commitment that we will move forward to get to those 15,000 [families still in temporary housing]," Donovan said.

For more from the day, view the above slideshow of images, as well as media stories highlighting SBP, the Wiltz family and Secretary Donovan's visit below.

Read the Secretary's letter of support.

Times Picayune Article

alt

Thanks to the hard work of many volunteers and support from the Entergy Corporation, Mr. Kenneth and his wife of 47 years, Barbara, who has Alzheimer’s, are now settling down in their newly rebuilt home.

During Katrina, the couple spent several days in the New Orleans Convention Center and were flown to Utah away from any family members before temporarily relocating to Houston. The Wiltzes were finally able to purchase a new home in Gentilly, after finding their first home in shambles. The family lived in the home for two years before learning that their home had been rebuilt using hazardous “Chinese Sheetrock”.

Kenneth and Barbara had nowhere else to go, and were forced to live out of the back room of their gutted home.

After a partner organization contacted the St. Bernard Project, volunteers worked double shifts, completing the home in a record five weeks. During this time, the Wiltzes lived in two different hotel rooms and finally the back room of their home, while volunteers completed the front half of the house. The Wiltz family had an opportunity of a lifetime when HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and his family landscaped their front yard and attended their welcome home party.

“It was surreal to see all of the volunteers and these people you see on tv in my front yard,” Mr. Wiltz said.

Mr Wiltz hopes that the new home will be a comfort to his wife Barbara and is looking forward to living out his life in his home, thanks to the St. Bernard Project.