lowernine.org operates one Home Rebuild Program with two components - full residential construction and major structural repair projects. We use unskilled volunteers under skilled supervision in the majority of tasks associated with rebuilding homes, bringing the cost to rebuild down to approximately 20-30% of open market rate. Thus, residents who were unable to acquire sufficient support to completely fund their recoveries might still be given the opportunity to return to their homes.
We need your help to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans! We are always looking for individuals to join our volunteer construction crew and work on residential construction projects in the Lower Ninth Ward under skilled supervision. We welcome all willing and able individuals regardless of skill level throughout the year. We provide the necessary project training, tools, and safety equipment. You must have an up-to-date tetanus shot and active health insurance, and should consult with your physician if you have asthma or any known mold or dust allergies. The work we do is physically demanding.
Individuals will join a small crew, which works from 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Tuesday - Saturday on our open construction projects in the Lower Ninth Ward. We expect all volunteers staying in our volunteer house to commit to this schedule full-time. The vast majority of the time, we work on residential building projects for individual pre-Katrina residents of our neighborhood, but we occasionally take on lot clearing, data collection, or collaboration with other nonprofits in the area. Please be sure to let us know if you have any specific rebuild-related skills or previous experience. We will do all we can to make the most of your skills, but as our project schedules are determined by many variables, we can't make guarantees. Our most common volunteer projects are framing, insulating, sheetrocking, tiling, painting and siding. We cannot tell you ahead of time what you will be doing, but all our projects are guaranteed to contribute in some way to the rebuild efforts of our neighborhood.
