Day 2 First Day on Worksite

This morning we were joined by the Project Homecoming Site and Construction managers for all 4 homes the volunteers of Olive Tree Village are to work on this week.

Pauger St: site of Sheri, Sandy, Joyce, Eddie, Colette, Jimmie and Sarah

First Presbyterian has been divided into 2 homes; seven  (Joyce, Colette, Sandy, Edie, Sheri, Jimmie and Sarah) on Pauger St  and three(Gleason, Spike and Paul) are joining a group from Charlotte on Overton Dr.

The folks on Pauger are teamed up with Christina and Eric. Christina is a fifth year veteran of Project Homecoming and of course, calls New Orleans home. We worked with Christina last year and other years. Eric is a YAV from Charlotte, NC, enthusiastic and not afraid of a challenge! He spend most of our first day on a roof, scrapping paint on what we would consider the 'second floor.'


On Pauger St, owned by Zanzer and Veron Argusta; we will be washing, filling holes, scrapping, priming and painting the exterior of the home. Today was filled with nail hole filling, old paint scraping and Jimmie leveling a floor!
















*One precaution we needed to take was for lead paint most likely present, so don't we look lovely with our masks and gloves :)

We have yet to met our homeowners but hopefully, they will stop by this week so we can learn their story. It is one thing Project Homecoming has reminded it us, it is these personal, home by home rebuilding and stories that keeps them and us at work.


The three on Overton Dr, in the Marabeau Gardens of the Gentily district. Gleason, Paul and Spike spent their first day at a new construction on Overton Dr. This property is the first new construction home Project Homecoming will undertake of 13 new build projects.

Overton Dr. new construction 

This project will be the begin of 13 new construction single-family, energy efficient

and affordable homes in the Gentily neighborhood.

 As you can see, from these pictures, the work is slowly beginning, it has been two months since the groundbreaking. More information about Project Homecoming's new program in a later post.

We closed the evening for all the volunteers at Olive Tree with a poem from Archbishop Oscar Romero; A Future Not Our Own; 1 Cor. 3:5-9 and Spike leading us in the song He's Got the Whole World In His Hands.  We are indeed just the worker.