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.

Students Gear Up For Alternative Spring Break

While some GW students finalize their spring break trips to Cancun, Europe, and other relaxing destinations, others are looking forward to volunteering across the US as part of Alternative Spring Break.

Madeline Bush and Charlie Guinn are leading ASB Kansas, where volunteers will help rebuild the town of Greensburg, Kansas, which was devastated by a tornado in May 2007.

“I was a participant last year on the Kansas trip and absolutely fell in love with the program. I wanted to be a leader for the Kansas trip this year because I felt that my experience last year was so great and I wanted to give the same to another group of GW students,” said Bush, a sophomore who is a double major in human services and psychology. “The Kansas trip is truly eye-opening about the different cultures that exist within the US.”

To raise the $5,000 needed for the trip, each participant sent out 10 letters to friends and family asking them for monetary donations. They also had a late-night bake sale in Ivory Tower, as well as other fundraisers such as the Halloween candygrams and Christmas candy cane deliveries.

Bush said she is anxious about the trip because she and Guinn have been planning it for the entire school year.

“We definitely want to make it the best possible experience for every one of our participants. I think we’re both just really looking forward to the moment when we can be getting our hands dirty in the work and seeing the impact that it makes on our participants.”

Sarah Leibach, who is going on ASB Appalachia to rebuild a room in a family home, is also anxious but excited for the week.

“I’m a little bit nervous just because this is a completely new experience for me; we talked a bit about the region and the problems that people in small Appalachian towns face, but seeing it in reality is sure to be a huge shock,” said Leibach, a junior. “But I’m also super excited: we just got our itinerary and the week just looks incredible.”

“Everyone I knew who went on a trip said they came back with amazing friends and a sense of accomplishment,” said Leibach. “I had no plans for spring break and really wanted to do this before I graduated, so I made it a priority to go.”

Southern Flooding Prompts New Alternative Break Trip; 50 Students to Travel

GW's Office of Community Service has added an additional trip to its growing alternative breaks program in response to the flooding in the Southern U.S. that has left at least nine dead.

50 GW students will travel from January 2 - 10, 2010 to Atlanta, Georgia to assist in disaster relief efforts that have displaced thousands of people, and according to the American Red Cross has severely damaged or destroyed some 2,851 homes.

Interested students can sign up Wednesday October 14th beginning at 7am in Kogan Plaza. The line is expected to form much earlier. Spots will be assigned on a first come, first served basis. A spot on a wait list will be offered to those who are not among the first 50 students to arrive.

The cost of the trip is $300 per person and includes transportation, meals, accommodations, and program fees. Participants will work as a group to fundraise the remaining costs.

The Atlanta effort is in addition to week-long alternative break trips to Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Nashville, Tennessee, Galveston, Texas, Miami, Florida, New Orleans, Louisiana, the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah Oklahoma, Pipestem, West Virginia, and Greensburg, Kansas. Participants for these trips have already been chosen. Atlanta remains the only open trip.

For more information contact Shannon Donahue with the Office of Community Service at shannond@gwu.edu or 202.994.4304