The Good Work

A Little Overview

2008-12-03T09:39:00.001-08:00

OK, so it's taking a little longer to get things posted than I had hoped. Turns out it's much harder to get things done in the "real world" as opposed to the paradise of El Salvador. Who knew?

Anyhow, here is a nice little audio slideshow for you to enjoy. Hope you like it!

La Libertad

2008-11-25T06:39:00.001-08:00

Well Fran and I spent Thursday in the markets of La Libertad, El Salvador. It was a totally new experience to see how developing countries shop. I will write a lot more about it and post a lot more photos, but I will be doing it at my personal blog www.shanebevel.com.

Stay Tuned

2008-11-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

What a really wonderful week. I know I haven't been able to post in a few days, but please keep checking back, I have some other really cool stuff to share with you about the project. I will continue to back blog over eh next few days, so check back. And feel free to leave some comments, especially if you were in El Salvador and have a story to share.

Road Trip Wednesday

2008-11-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

We started out at day break and headed up into the mountains to a small village called La Concordia. The village is populated by a cooperative of coffee farmers who work together from the youngest to the oldest to harvest and sell their coffee on the U.S. Fair Trade markets. You can learn more details about the visit at David Snell's Travel Blog. Here is one of my favorite photos of the day. It is of Don Antonio and his wife inside their home. It is truly a beautiful place and the village folk certainly deserve better homes. Keep an eye out for this project coming up. If you like to climb... it's your kind of build!

After seeing the village and visiting several homeowners we headed back down to Tacuba to meet with several of the farmers at the coop headquarters. The town itself is peaceful and looks out over the volcanic mountains that surround it.

Most of the meeting was foreign to me because my Spanish is so rusty. But it was wonderful to see such a group of men working together for the common good of the village and it's people. We could all learn lessons here.

After we left the meeting we had a wonderful lunch at of of the members houses and then headed to the San Jose orphanage to visit what must be the most cheerful, beautiful girl's home I have ever set foot in. If you ever get close, you really must visit.

Please take the time to check out MORE PHOTOS HERE of our trip to Tacuba and beyond.

Carlos and Concepion Panoramics

2008-11-18T23:55:00.000-08:00

Today when I met Ana Gladys we were also able to meet another couple. Carlos and Concepcion live in in a building owned by the local coop with their two children. They have a small back yard that is fenced with barbed wire and an outdoor kitchen. To learn more about Carlos and Concepcion check out the Fuller Center website. To see a 360 degree panoramic of their home CLICK HERE. To see a panoramic of their back yard CLICK HERE.

Site Work!

2008-11-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

How about some work site photos? Take a LOOK HERE for views of Monday's work being done and a few others from the rides out and back. Enjoy!

On a personal note...

2008-11-18T16:04:00.001-08:00

... there were some folks who had some questions about Fran and I's insane idea to build houses in Central America instead of go on a cruise, or go to the mountains or go to the beach for our honeymoon.

We certainly aren't through the week, but so far I don't regret it a bit. To me, building a home for someone else and documenting this amazing example of humanity is one of the best ways to start my life with Fran. How much more love and respect will we have for each other knowing that we have made this small sacrifice to help those around us? How much more will we appreciate our own new home because of our experience here? Call it renegade pre-marriage counseling.

Homeowner: Ana Gladys Bonilla

2008-11-18T13:23:00.000-08:00

This morning was exciting. Millard Fuller, Jeff Abbott, Fuller's director of operations in Latin America and I took off to meet some of the new homeowners in the neighborhood around the project. It was nice to get away from the dust and noise of the construction site and get into the community to see the conditions that the people here must endure. By lunch any lingering doubt of our mission here was erased.

Our first stop was at the home of Ana Gladys who lives with her husband Santos and their four children in a home that is made mostly of bamboo framing and black trash bags. They do have a bit of tin on the roof, but it leaks and is only borrowed from a neighbor. They have packed dirt floors and a little gas fired indoor kitchen. There is no plumbing, but they share a nearby outhouse with three other families.

Ana's substandard house has made it through two rainy seasons here in El Salvador, but thankfully won't have to last a third. Soon she will have a beautiful new home built solidly of brick and concrete with doors, windows and a cement floor. Hope is on the horizon for Ana Gladys and her family... literally... for from her yard you can see the walls rising on her new home and 15 others just across an open field.

For a 360 degree panoramic view of Ana Gladys home, please CLICK HERE. For a view of her yard please CLICK HERE. To read more about Ana Gladys, please visit www.fullercenter.org

Have a Look Around!

2008-11-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

Welcome to El Salvador! Click on THIS LINK or THIS LINK to check out two 360 degree panoramic movies of the build site. The images were shot on Monday morning shortly after work began. You can click and drag to pan around and even zoom in and out. You will need to have QUICKTIME to view the panos, but it's free and I will be posting some movies of the inside of some of the homeowners current dwellings later today, so it will be well worth the effort! Enjoy and we'll be back soon with photos, audio and more panoramics.

¡Qué bien!

2008-11-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

Finally we have internet access. I will be back posting a bit for the rest of the afternoon and adding some neat multimedia stuffs. But for know know that the project here in San Luis Talpa is going wonderfully. The houses are coming together beautifully and many of the groups are already building gables on the second day. That means it may be roof time tomorrow!

Off We Go!

2008-11-16T07:38:00.000-08:00

passports in hand
cameras packed
flip flops ho!

Well it's getting down to the final minutes. The plan leaves at two and we are off and running. Tomorrow we will rise and watch the sun do the same over the waters of the Pacific ocean and the beginning of the 2008 Millard and Linda Fuller Blitz Build.

Hopefully I will find time to do everything I have planned. If I do you will be seeing photos, hearing audio and looking at 360 degree panoramics of the work site and the rest of the Salvadoran coast!

Wish us luck and pray for our travel.... we are off again!

A Year

2008-11-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

What a difference a year can make.

Things have changed for me in so many ways. I am now married to a beautiful, loving woman. I have a new, fantastic job in a great city. And most important to this context. We now own our own home. For several years now I have worked with the Fuller Center for Housing building homes in Shreveport, La. and documenting their project there. So the idea of volunteer house building is not new to me.

However, next week when Frances and I leave our new home in Tulsa and fly to El Salvador, I think I will have a more profound understanding of what it means to the people we are helping to build their own homes. To have a place to call your own is a feeling like no other. To have solid, affordable housing is a security that no one should go without.

This trip means a lot to me in many ways. I am going primarily to document the project. To tell you about the needs and to show you the work being done. But it's also our honeymoon.

When I first talked to Holly at the Fuller Center she said "You know, I am not suggesting that you do a blitz build for your honeymoon, but if you do...."

I thought about it for a while and then I called Frances and sheepishly pitched the idea to her. In an instant the decision was made and we were making plans.

Now that the wedding is past us, I am getting excited about making plans for the trip south and I am super excited to see all of my Fuller Center friends. I hope that if you aren't making the trip this year you will check back here from time to time and wish us all the best.

More to come, but for now, here is an overview of the project from the Fuller Center.

Open House

2007-12-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

Just a short note. In between assignments I stopped by Allendale to visit with friends at the Christmas Open House.

Wanted to let everyone know the neighborhood is looking fantastic. Everyone is (long since) moved into their homes and the lawns are all down. Louis tells me that Fred waters his lawn constantly.

Glen says there are more rehabs underway (one was dedicated yesterday) and the city continues (although at a slower pace) to tear down houses in the area. Glen tells me that there is a house in the neighborhood that needs a whole new roof (including decking) and before I know it I think I am signed up to help lead the fast weekend roof job after the first of the year..... yes... things are good in Allendale.

Dedication Day (Day Five)

2007-09-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

Fanstastic.

That's really the only word I have to describe the feeling that comes over you while watching a story like this week unfold.

I have some more thoughts and I will continue to post them as the weekend rolls on, but right now I want to tell you about the dedication at Rosie Chaffold's house this afternoon. I spent a fair amount of time stopping by Miss Rosie's home on my way out of the neighborhood because it was close to the build site and I knew the people involved. This afternoon she was the spotlight for the rehab dedications.

And boy did she shine.
After Millard had spoken and the house captains had presented gifts, Rosie took the stage and spoke. I could not imagine a more articulate, heartfelt and sincere speech from anyone in the city on this day. She talked about a time when living in Allendale made her less than human to those in the rest of the city. She talked about the slow decline of Allendale, down to the depths of it's darkness. She talked about the arrival of the Shreveport/Bossier Community Renewal House and she talked about the rise of the Fuller Center project. She talked about all these things and more as a crowd of several dozen volunteers stood humbled by her grace.

But I had to catch my breath and pause my shooting when she said to the crowd of volunteers: "If I had ten thousand hearts, I couldn't say thank you enough." Books have been based on lesser words.

It's an amazing thing to watch a house (much less nine) go up in a week, but it pales in comparison to watching people start the rest of their lives in a new home.

Back to Work

2007-09-20T13:27:00.001-07:00

Today marks my first day back in " the office." It's a shame, but I suppose all good things (like getting paid by my company to volunteer) must come to an end. However, that doesn't mean they could keep me away from the site altogether.

After my morning assignment I stopped by to check out the progress and also shoot a photo for an upcoming feature on the VOA traveling art bazaar. The work has slowed some while the contractors catch up. I mean hey, just cause they are pros doesn't mean they can always keep up with the Army of Ants!

The flooring contractors had gotten a start on House #9 and the drywall contractors were still trying to catch up on Clay Street.

I was going to go in and help the elves this evening, but Glen assures me they have more than enough locals signed up for tonight.

Dedications start tomorrow at 1:30 for the rehab houses and after that are the dedications for the nine new houses. I will be out to cover them and hope to see you guys there!

Reuniting in Allendale

2007-09-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

The week's work is almost done and it's time to start the celebrations.

At 6:30 p.m. today a reception will be held for current and former Allendale residents at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 1558 Buena Vista St.

It was organized by Renee Hooks, an Americorps employee who is working with The Fuller Center and Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal. She grew up in Allendale, and has memories of one big family of folks that looked out for each other.

That was before the "guns and knives" took over. Now, she looks at the few blocks developed by the Fuller Center and is amazed.

"It's a new and better Allendale, and one I could never have imagined," she said.

If folks come back to the neighborhood, she knows they'll be impressed and hopes it will encourage them to get involved in the rest of the rebuilding efforts.

"I know it's going to work. It's going to be a success."

Another Blog

2007-09-19T19:20:00.001-07:00

David Westerfield with Shreveport/Bossier Community Renewal is also writing a blog. You can see it here. www.sbcr.us/

More Photos!

2007-09-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Photo galleries at www.shreveporttimes.com

Here they are! More photos from Day Three.

My Hero

2007-09-19T16:41:00.001-07:00

All week as I have labored on the roof of Ruth's house, I looked out over the empty lot next door and saw nothing but a clean slate where rows and rows of shotgun houses once stood, where when I came to Shreveport less than six years ago you could find any vice you wanted. And the only remnants of the block's past life, remained dangling from the power lines.

Regardless of their origin (prostitution, drugs or a remembrance for a fallen gang member) the shoes meant nothing to me but leftover memories of a place long past and all week I had wished that someone would cut them down.

Finally the house captain at House #8, Keith, loaded up on a high lift and cut each of the sneakers down. As I watched from the rooftop I thought about the symbolism of that act. How it was so simple and yet meant so much. In fact, much of what has been done this week is the same way. Simple gestures that as a whole will have a lasting impact.

Hump Day

2007-09-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

Today was my last full day of work on the site. Bosses say I gotta... you know... go back to real work.

First thing in the morning, despite objection from my legs, we climbed back up onto the roof and finished the roof. It was a real pleasure to drive that last nail in a roof that will hopefully stand for decades.

Afterwards I grabbed my cameras and walked around the block a few times before lunch
All the houses were making great progress with all the roofs done and siding and drywall going up fast the neighborhood was really starting to look complete. Over on Clay Street is seemed that the Amish had spread themselves out to help their neighbors. And they were even pouring the concrete for the sidewalks and steps as I made my way to the church for lunch.

At lunch I saw that Joe Shyne had come back for another visit and Councilman Monty Walford and Shreveport CAO Tom Dark were with him.

"It's like an army of ants," said Dark. He added that although his kids had done this kind of mission work before, he was amazed to see adults taking the week off to come build a house in Shreveport. As they made their way around the grounds the city contractors continued to bulldoze substandard housing in the neighborhood. I heard that Brian Wooley was coming out later that afternoon as well. Maybe councilmen Michael Long, Ron Webb, Joyce Bowman and Calvin Lester will join us before the week is over.

When I returned to the work site I came to a realization; it seems as though in this world of house-building there are two kinds of people. Painters and non-painters. I thank God for the painters, because I gotta tell ya that I hate it. I can't really place a finger on why, but I do. So after playing around with a roller I left the serious prime/paint work to the pros and started scraping and sweeping floors to get ready for the flooring contractors. Eventually I ran out of time and had to get home to get this blog up, file images to the paper and post a gallery!

Before I left I made one last stop by Rosie's house to see the progress. It seems there was more rot in the front porch roof than anticipated and they had to strip it to the studs.
As I was talking to Tim in the kitchen, which is coming together beautifully, the whole week was wrapped up in a split second when Tim showed Rosie her new kitchen sink. The look on her face when she saw the running water was worth all the sunburn and sore legs the week could possibly dish out.

More Photos

2007-09-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

Part of my agreement with my company is that in exchange for the time to work on the project I also produce this blog and a photo gallery each day! There are lots of photos of the project, so I hope you have a second to check it out.

Photo galleries at www.shreveporttimes.com

There is a gallery for today by me, a gallery by Jim Hudelson from yesterday and also a look at the shotgun houses that are being replaced by Val Horvath.

Back For More

2007-09-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Today started much the same as the previous one, a brief meeting with the house captains set everyone up and off we went to finish the roof. Before I went up top, I took a walk through the house. The sheetrock crew had come in either late last night or early this morning and hung the walls and ceiling. Literally overnight the interior of the house had taken shape. It's looking great.
A short walk around the sites this morning showed that everyone was making steady progress on the homes. Almost all of the homes were laying roof decking and shingles or at least done with the walls and started on the trusses.
After lunch we headed back to find that Mark had decided we were enough ahead for the day and reassigned the roof crew (and our more-precious-than-jewels nailguns) to help another house that had gotten a later start. So with one roof under our belt we set out to start on another. Honestly, it's a bit like finishing a race just to realize that you have to run back to where you started. But it had to be done and we made quick work of half the roof and helped House #5 get caught up with the rest of the block.
During my morning rounds I stopped by Tim's rehab project at Miss Rosie's house. The crew there has an ambitious outlook and is replacing most of the windows, gutting the kitchen, adding new plumbing and cabinets and painting the exterior of the entire house. And oh yeah, in their spare time, they are also re-roofing the porch.

Let me also add that the city is hard at work tearing down shotgun and other substandard houses all over the neighborhood. I can't decide if the lack of the old houses or the addition of the new houses is more uplifting for the city, but as a partnership they are really changing the face of the back corner of Allendale... for the better.

As I walked down Clay Street, one of the sites was strangely quiet. I didn't hear the hum of air compressors, nor the distinct whack of a nailgun. Just a constant almost singular thump-thump-thump echoed from the top of the roof.
Let me just say, if you have never watched an Amish man swing a hammer, you are missing out. Glen tells me these guys, I think about ten of them, got a ride down from Indiana because "they heard we needed some help." It's a good thing for House #1 that they did. They are so efficient, so quiet, so dedicated to their work. It's really a blessing just to stand there and watch them for a minute. Imagine what else we could learn from them.

The Fullers' story

2007-09-18T13:08:00.001-07:00

I've told some of Millard Fuller's story before, and it's a fascinating tale of love and loss and redemption. A couple of books -- for sale at the work site -- give more details of the story. Even better they feature Shreveport fairly prominently as the first big project of The Fuller Center for Housing.

"The House that Love Built" by Bettie Youngs is a biography of Mr. Fuller and his wife, Linda. It goes through his first career as a lawyer to the founding of Habitat for Humanity to the falling out with the Habitat board and the founding of The Fuller Center for Housing. Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal founder Mack McCarter wrote an afterword praising the Fullers for their work in Allendale.

Fuller wrote "Building Materials for Life," a series of short essays detailing lessons he learned on various builds. Again, his experiences in Shreveport are discussed. I've read a few of them, and they're pretty inspiring.

Both books are available through the Fuller Center website, www.fullercenter.org.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2007-09-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

Who knew that my week would begin with putting a roof on!? Diane and the other volunteers just hammered away at Ruth's house on Saturday and Sunday until it was nearly built. The progress this year compared to last is amazing.

When I showed up this morning I talked with Mark Butler, the house captain from Atlanta, Ga. Turns out that Mark has been doing this "just about 10 minutes longer" than the rest of us. His version of 10 minutes is a little warped. Mark has build more than 200 homes as a volunteer with Habitat and The Fuller Center for Housing and now averages about six homes a year. It shows in his leadership and problem solving and as a result the day went incredibly smooth.
Mark tells the group what the tasks for the day are while Al Cook and Ruth listen.

After Greg Hunt said a prayer, Mark talked about the day and we broke into groupsand got to work.

As the black tar paper went down, the beautiful 60-degree morning quickly turned into a blistering day on the roof. I spent most of my time with a couple of guys from Canada... Montreal to be exact. As we talked about differences in language and culture we hammered away and the next thing you know we had laid down felt paper, put up drip edge and shingled nearly half the roof! Paul, Daniel and Sean may talk a little funny, but they can sure sling shingles... eh?
At lunch Councilman Joe Shyne stopped by to shake some hands and cheer on the volunteers. It was really appreciated and I am glad that the councilman could see the massive project in motion. I asked him to bring some other councilmen with him as the week goes on. I hope he does. I have a number of new friends in Allendale I would love for them to meet.
As the day progressed so did the houses. The others on our block (some of whom started with just bare foundations) were putting up roof decking when I left at 5:30.

Tomorrow is another day and another list of things to be accomplished. I hope to take a little time around lunch and visit with some of the other house crews. Everyone's got a great story and I can't tell all 400 of them, but I will try.

For now I am off to find dinner (ice sounds good) and try to get a little rest before it all starts again.

Sunburned and satisfied

2007-09-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

Hammering is harder than it looks.

That's what I learned Saturday as I joined the Fuller Center volunteers in Allendale for the first day of this year's Blitz build. As Shane said last week, it really was a very cool day to work.

We gathered at about 8 a.m. for a short devotion standing on the slab of the house at Alston Street and Allen Avenue (the First Baptist house). After the prayer and a short safety instruction we started carrying walls. By 11:30, the walls were all in place and it was time to wrap the house. When I left at 4, the roof trusses had been put in place and it looked like a house. Amazing what good planning and hard work can do.

Even more amazing were the good hearts of the experienced folks out there. Their patience with me and other inexperienced volunteers was endless and their support and encouragement was genuine and inspiring. It made this ridiculous sunburn I have worth it.

Three houses were started Saturday and the other six will get moving today. In the next hour or so I'll head out there and let y'all know what I see.

6:30

2007-09-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

6:30 comes mighty early when you aren't hunting or fishing.

On the upside, its a very cool 61 degrees outside. It should be a beautiful day.

Returning to Allendale

2007-09-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

Diane Haag kicked off the week with a great piece.

" Patricia Ardison feels like she has a chance to move home again.

She lived on Clay Street for several years in the 1960s when it was "a very nice neighborhood." Since then, she has avoided the Allendale neighborhood, which was became known for drugs and violence."

Read the rest here.

Trucks from Minnesota

2007-09-13T08:56:00.001-07:00

Just got back from the job site where volunteers and supplies are still showing up. I chatted for a minute with Chris Knode from Orlando and watched as he scaled the side of a pile of pre-built walls for House #5. The walls came from Minnesota by truck and were being unloaded by a crane, lifted over power wires and lowered onto the foundations! That's a lot easier than unloading them by hand according to Glen and Co.

Rosie Chaffold

2007-09-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Funny how you have plans to do one thing and end up doing another.

I got a call from Glen while I was running around between assignments to let me know they had started tearing down the rest of the houses on Allen Ave. So I shot over there to make a couple of photos and see how it would change the backdrop for my time-lapse later that week.

When I pulled up I nearly instantly remembered there were still a handful of Crinums that
I had intended to dig up for some of the neighbors. So I looked around for a shovel and finally had to run down to Rosie Chaffold's house to borrow one.

Now I have heard of Miss Rosie before through contacts in the neighborhood and in stories that the paper has done, but I had never met her myself until today. As I expected, she was delightful. She is also one of the five people in the neighborhood who will have their homes updated and refurbished during the blitz build.

I didn't have much time, so I dug up the flowers, left two on Erma's porch, kept two for The Times in-house gardener Kathie Rowell and took the rest back to the Allendale Garden of Hope and Love.Miss Rosie started the garden in 2002 and it has been growing ever since. Made up of volunteer work, donated and salvaged plants and a few interesting decorations, the garden sits on what used to be the absolute drug dealer hotspot in Allendale.

In fact, it still was when she started her garden. They co-existed for a while, she dug weeds at one end; they sold it at the other. But eventually her green thumb just needed the space and she took over the whole lot. To listen to her tell it, getting rid of them was as simple as mowing the grass and planting a few flowers. Of course that was all after they had shot through the windows of her home just down the street on Buena Vista.

Miss Rosie has an interesting take on Allendale, saying that there is plenty of beauty, but that it's masked by all the trash. It just needs to be uncovered.

ATTN: Local Volunteers!

2007-09-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

OK, now it's time for the locals to pony up. The Fuller Center is looking for people to work all next week Sept. 17-21 for the Blitz Build. If you can work during the day, that's great, but you can also be an Evening Elf and help get the sites ready for the work crews the next day.

BUT if you can't get off during the week or even if you can, Glen tells me he is desperate for help the Saturday and Sunday BEFORE the blitz. That would be this coming weekend, the 15th and 16th.

They will be trying to get a head start on one of the houses by getting the walls and the trusses up and in place. There is work for anyone who will help, but especially for those willing to lift a bit of weight. Please don't let that scare you off though. I have seen amazing things happen through teamwork.
If you can help, please email Brenda Barton at volunteercoordinatorfch@yahoo.com and they will get you all fixed up!

I am telling you from experience, if you can only volunteer one or two days, these are the days to be there. When you get there, it will be a flat concrete foundation and when you leave you will see the framed skeleton of a brand new house. Nothing will make you feel better.

Well... maybe the shower that night ;)

Fred Blackwell

2007-09-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

I had a minute in between assignments today so I stopped by the Fuller Center office to chat with Fred Blackwell who will be moving into one of the homes built during the blitz on Alston Street.

Fred was busy, just like the rest of the staff, going over the final registration paperwork and answering phones as volunteers call in for information.

As he worked Fred shared with me that he was a Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Navy and that although he had been married, he became homeless after his wife passed away in 1988. Starting in 1995, he spent six years living on the streets in Texarkana. Finally in 2001 he came to live at the VA hospital in Shreveport as part of the homeless program there. After a year of working on the program and volunteering in the mailroom, the VA offered Fred a job as a mailman. He jumped at the chance and was soon living in a small apartment in a downtown high rise and working full time.

Just six years removed from the streets, now Fred will own his own home and live in what he calls a good neighborhood, the kind of neighborhood he grew up it. After he gets settled in his new home he plans to travel to New York and move his older sister, who is confined to a wheelchair, to Shreveport so she can live with him.

Even though he had knee surgery less than a week ago and is still on crutches, Fred says he plans to work at the registration or first aid stations during the build. When asked about volunteers leaving their own homes and families to travel across the country and build his home, he simply says "Where else would it happen but America?"

Yvonne Staples

2007-09-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

"Those are my doors," says Yvonne Staples as she watches a crew from Allen Millwork unload at the site. "They are beautiful!" Crews have already started to deliver everything from pre-built walls to vinyl siding to doors and windows to the Blitz Build site.

Yvonne currently lives and works at Canaan Towers, a subsidized apartment building in Allendale but says that she can't wait to have a home of her own. As a matter of fact, Glen Barton tells me that Yvonne racked up more than 100 hours in her first month in the program.

Yvonne has already offered her gardening services to her neighbors and decided to have a two bedroom house instead of a three bedroom so that she would have more room to exercise her green thumb.

Tim DuBois

2007-09-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

Also out working with Yvonne was Tim DuBois. I met Tim last year after the blitz had come and gone. In fact, so had Tim. After riding down from Minnesota with a group of strangers, Tim got back, packed up his tools and truck and headed back south to finish the work on the houses.

Tim decided to come to work on the project after spending time in Baton Rouge after the storms working in a Red Cross shelter. "I did what I could," he said. "But I wasn't swinging a hammer or mucking houses." So when he heard about the group headed south, he called and asked if there was still space on the bus.

After finishing his work in Shreveport last year Tim headed back to Minnesota, but in the last year has worked on Fuller Center projects in El Salvador and Alabama.

The De(Recon)struction Of Clay Street

2007-09-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today's post is a little video on the happenings in Allendale. I will let it speak for itself. For those from out of town, these are the final remaining shotgun houses on Clay Street.

BTW, If you think Louis' interview is enthusiastic, that's also him cheering on the backhoe driver!

And forgive the rough cuts... I am off work today, so it's just me and the ol' iMovie. No fancy Avid Express Pro at the office!

Clay Street

2007-09-05T13:11:00.001-07:00

Clay Street is at the heart of the Allendale project and I had a couple of emails asking me to post photos of the work that had already been done here in Shreveport.

Here are the beautiful townhomes that were built more than a year ago at the corner of Clay and Pierre.

And across the street are a group of eight row houses. These houses are the last ones standing on Clay Street. Rumors have it that they will be knocked down by the time the blitz builders arrive!
I'd like to end this post with a photo of Erma Flournoy's home and the flower garden in her front yard. This was one of the home built during the blitz build last year.Just look at that porch!

Ruth Jones Stinger

2007-09-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

I stopped by the Fuller Center office on the way into work today and was able to catch up with Ruth Jones Stinger, who was working on getting things together for the build.

Ruth is another of the nine future homeowners in the Allendale neighborhood. While we talked she told me about her journey to North Louisiana after riding out Hurricane Katrina on the West Bank of New Orleans with her family. Ruth and her elderly mother were among the many people in New Orleans East that lost their homes to the hurricanes.

She told me when they fled the storm she had planned to go to Houston but ended up in Shreveport instead. "I never thought we would go this far," she said. "God guided us here."

After she got settled here, Ruth got a job at the El Dorado Casino as a security guard, got her and her mother into apartments, started saving money and got into the Fuller Center program a few months ago. Ruth said she is excited about owning her first home and can't wait to start making it her own.

"I gotta start using the word mortgage now instead of rent," she said.

Lisa Sewell

2007-09-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today I stopped by the Fuller Center site and not surprisingly Glen Barton and his team of workers were out there getting ready for the blitz build, even on a day when most of the rest of us are relaxing at home.

I got a chance to chat with Lisa Sewell who was sorting nails leftover from previous projects. Lisa is a veteran of the US Army, served during the first Gulf War and now works in the mail room for the City of Shreveport.
Although Lisa works full time and cares for six children, she has also found time to go back to school and just two weeks ago graduated with a Bachelor's degree in humanities from Louisiana Tech Universtiy. She hopes to take her certification test soon and become a teacher.

Lisa will be getting a four bedroom house in the 1500 block of Alston St. and says although she has to work during the week, will be taking a few days off to work alongside the volunteers coming to build her family's new home in Allendale.

The Background

2007-09-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

So here's a new blog for our readers. This blog is focused on the Fuller Center For Housing Blitz Build project that will be happening here in Shreveport in exactly two weeks! In five days time people from Shreveport and all over the nation will work together to build nine new homes and rehabilitate five more. Last year the group built 10 new homes in the neighborhood during the Blitz.

In the photo above you can already see the work starting on the plumbing and foundations.

A little background to get you started. I am a photojournalist here at The Times and have been for nearly six years. In my time here I have seen a lot of changes in Shreveport, but none have been as drastic and uplifting as the change on "The Hill" in Allendale.

When I got here the back corner of the Allendale neighborhood was filled with dilapidated shotgun houses and was among the worst neighborhoods in the city. Through the efforts of Community Renewal and the Fuller Center the area has done a 180 in many ways and is now becoming a vibrant, beautiful neighborhood full of wonderful people.

In the next two weeks I will be introducing you to the new homeowners. They are already hard at work putting in their 350 "sweat equity" hours on the site and in the Fuller Center office. As the blitz build begins I will swap back and forth from my cameras to my tool belt and at the end of each day will bring you a report from the site as well as photos and at the end of the week a time-lapse video of the project.