CITY FOCUS:Rebuilding homes, hope

Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans is almost 1,900 miles away from Huntington Beach, and to many that ruined city seems a world away. Yet dozens of Huntington residents have tried in recent weeks to bridge the gap, as two separate teams traveled there to lend a hand.

In a charitable coincidence, both Habitat for Humanity of Orange County and St. Bonaventure Church in Huntington Beach sent teams to New Orleans recently. Those who went with each group worked at a feverish pace to give residents livable homes.

The Habitat for Humanity trip, from Jan. 14 to Jan. 21, brought about 35 volunteers — at least five from Huntington Beach — to the Louisiana city, volunteers said. And 41 people took the St. Bonaventure Church trip, which lasted Thursday to Monday, according to Father Bruce Patterson, the church’s pastor.

All who were interviewed said the experience moved them deeply. Retiree and regular Habitat for Humanity volunteer Larry Foster, who has done work in Gulf Coast town Beaumont, Texas, said he was struck by the emptiness of the place, with only one out of every 10 or 15 businesses open. Yet, he said, those remaining were very gracious.

“Generally, the conversation was: ‘Are you visiting?’ ‘No, I’m here with Habitat for Humanity.’ ‘Thank you so much for coming here,’” he said. “They were very appreciative.”

Habitat for Humanity workers stayed in Camp Hope, a once-flooded elementary school turned into a base for volunteers, Huntington Beach resident Alexandra Amador said. The building had just gotten back hot water, something many places in town don’t have. Her strongest feeling after working on three houses that week was hope.

“It’s such a good feeling to be around people who had given up so much of their time and finances to do this together,” she said. “There’s still hope for good in this country.”

Patterson said Tuesday he was still working through his experiences restoring homes and a church in the Gentilly Woods neighborhood. He spoke of finding the water lines everywhere, of whole parks full of dead trees and brown grass, all accompanied by an eerie quiet.

“It’s hard to put into words,” he said. “If you’re there, it creates an entirely different impression. You can’t get it off the newspaper, you can’t get it off the TV, you can’t get it off film. It feels like the ghost of Hurricane Katrina is around you.”

But Patterson also said he was amazed by the generosity and humility of his team.

“We could have walked in there with our egos way up in the air,” he said. “But every single person treated them with just the utmost of respect and dignity. Everything was based on the desires and wishes of that person. How do you want the door to look? What kind of this? What kind of that?”

One woman called the team “an army of angels,” Patterson said, calling it a “life-changing experience for everyone who went.”

Amador said the same of her Habitat for Humanity trip, the first she has taken but likely not the last.

“I definitely would do it again,” she said. “Right away, I thought about coming back in a couple of months.”