It’s been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast, bringing with it high winds, heavy flooding and devastation of land, homes, businesses and life. In New Orleans, where the levees failed, more than130,000 homes were damaged. Just weeks later, before people could even begin to clean up and rebuild, Hurricane Rita hit.
NeighborWorks® America responded, bringing together resources and supporting organizations both in and out of its network. Together, we solved problems, provided grants and technical assistance, helped families fax forms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Insurance Companies, and more.
To mark the anniversary of the storm – and the resilience and rebuilding of so many communities – NeighborWorks looks back on those early days of recovery and highlights the lessons learned.
Hurricane Katrina is still listed by NOAA as one of the costliest storms on record, with more than $201.3 billion spent on damages. But disasters have continued to take an economic and human toll. In 2024 alone, there were 27 disasters that cost more than a billion dollars. Along with such devastation we also see determination, new partnerships, vows to rebuild, and lessons to take us into the years ahead.
Following is a look at our upcoming content.
James Ross, a senior relationship manager at NeighborWorks America was settling his son into college out of state when Hurricane Katrina hit. His own New Orleans home was heavily impacted by the storm. So was his job. But Ross found a new job at NeighborWorks America; his work centered on helping his own community recover. (Aug. 25) Read his story about the early days of doing this work.
Kimberly LaRosa, CEO of Renaissance Community Loan Fund (RCLF), reflects on the early days of the Mississippi organization, created to focus on housing in a community devastated by the storm. The nonprofit was supposed to be temporary. Instead, RCLF became a certified Community Development Financial Institution and even expanded to be a microlender for small businesses. (Aug. 26) Read the story about recovery in Mississippi.
NeighborWorks America launches the first podcast of the season, hosted by NeighborWorks President & CEO Marietta Rodriguez. This special episode of The Community Effect features guests who were on the ground in New Orleans: Terry North, president and CEO of Providence Community Housing; Bill Bynum, the CEO of Hope Enterprise Corporation and Hope Credit Union; and Kathy Laborde, president and CEO of Gulf Coast Housing Partnership. (Aug. 27) Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.
Donald R. Phoenix was serving as director of NeighborWorks’ Southern Region at the time the storm struck. He shares some of his insights from that time. (Aug. 28) Read his story.
During our NeighborWorks Training Institute in New Orleans, NeighborWorks will offered a resiliency tour to showcase some of the rebuilding in the historic city. (Aug. 29) Read about the new projects.
