Contaminated Homes Built by Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans' Musicians' Village

International housing organization Habitat for Humanity has acknowledged that it built contaminated homes in New Orleans, La. for years after Hurricane Katrina left 1,500 homeless.

The affected homes were built with defective drywall, imported from China. The drywall is corrosive, and homeowners have reported health problems that they believe to be associated with the defective materials. Many of the homes were built in Musicians’ Village, a new neighborhood conceptualized by New Orleans natives and musicians Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis.

Reports from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and investigative website ProPublica state that employees complained about the quality of the imported drywall as far back as 2007. But the Habitat for Humanity New Orleans continued to use the drywall until Nov. 2009, when it was told by the Consumer Product Safety Commission not to use the remaining drywall.

In Mar. 2008, the GW Alternative Spring Break New Orleans (ASB NOLA) program joined Habitat for Humanity in Musicians’ Village. It was not clear at press time whether GW students had helped to build the contaminated homes. The Office of Community Service, which organizes the Alternative Spring Break program, could not be reached for comment late Thursday afternoon.

Habitat for Humanity is still inspecting homes that they suspect are affected, both in Musicians’ Village (in the Upper Ninth Ward) and some surrounding areas, including St. Bernard Parish. The organization began to notify homeowners last month of their intention to gut the affected homes and provide rent-free apartments for affected residents for the duration of reconstruction.

Since 2006, the Office of Community Service has sent increasing numbers of students down to New Orleans each year for their Alternative Spring Break program. Students have volunteered their weeklong March break to help clean up debris and rebuild homes with Habitat for Humanity after Hurricane Katrina left 1,500 homeless in Dec. 2005.

Habitat for Humanity is an international housing organization that helps communities in need to build and rebuild affordable homes, particularly in the wake of natural disasters. GW has a chapter, run by students, that focuses on building homes for the residents of Washington, D.C.

Keep checking WRGW News for updates, and
click for coverage of Habitat for Humanity New Orleans by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and ProPublica.