Here's a report on Marguerite's worksite.
Marguerite is 86 years old, a retired school teacher, sharp as a tack, and a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Slidell. According to a neighbor, she's the youngster on the block as her next-door neighbor is 90 years old.
 
Marguerite's slab home had 18 inches of water from Katrina. Her son lives in Pascagoula, Mississippi and lost everything in the hurricane--he is struggling to help her. The goal for this BPC team is to empty out the storage trailer by Friday and return it so Marguerite will no longer have to pay rent.
 
Custom woodwork trim has been installed throughout the entire house under the leadership of Eric M. and Eric W. The tool man and electrical guy on this worksite has been Diehl. Keenan has been installing baseboards. Karen, Cheryl, Samantha, and Janet have painstakingly painted every piece of trim. The finish work is almost done.

Wednesday, June 28:

Here is Joyce's story:

   Left: Joyce and Judy.  Below: Joyce's house, where they worked on a new door and flooring.  

Below is Lynne's story along with photos of her home and work team....

Lynne has lived in her house with her three daughters for 11 years. Her eldest daughter lives and works about an hour and a half away from home as a birthing labor nurse in a hospital. Her middle daughter, Fawn, works two jobs and will be taking classes 5 days a week at Louisiana State University, living at home 4 days a week and living in an apartment 3 days a week. Kelsey, her youngest daughter, is going into her sophomore year of high school. Despite being built 6 feet off of the ground, their house received about 18 inches of water. Their garage, however, built on ground level, had water collected up into the unfinished loft. It is a constant battle with her insurance company, which refuses to give her money for anything that the water from the two bayous near her house touched.       
       Although tornadoes came through first, destroying some of her property and ripping up 36 trees into her yard, 11 of which were originally in her yard. The rest came from neighboring yards. Lynne said at the beginning of the week that she most desired security and privacy again. Her front and back doors, along with their frames, had been warped and made unusable by the waters, and she told us those were what she missed most.  
      Lynne is a school counselor, working at a local elementary school with kindergarten through third graders. She is constantly trying to get involved in the community and give back. Her three dogs and cat have been adopted as strays. She had set up and was working on increasing a teen pregnancy prevention program at a local non-profit center, the Center for Children and Families, along with multiple classes for younger children. The floods destroyed the Center for Children and Families, taking with it parenting resource center, music and drama center, computer lab, recreation room, three play therapy rooms, and three counseling offices.
      The biggest regret Lynne has about the damage from the Katrina floods is the lack of response from her own surrounding community. The administration at the school where she works gave only three personal days after the floods, and if an employee took more of for meeting FEMA trailers or repair to his home, that employee would be docked. She says some of the more financially stable in the community have been able to repair their homes, but have been neglectful in responding and reaching out to those homes which are still in disrepair. She swears once her house has become relatively livable again, she and her daughters will be donating their time and supplies to other homes in the area, trying to once again give back to the community.