FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Because of the damage to Loyola New
Orleans, she ended up finishing her degree at Loyola University Chicago in December of 2005. Stilp also evacuated during the hurricane, but
she decided to remain on staff at Habitat. Unable to return until the first week of October, she hit the ground running. She was one of only four New Orleans Habitat workers in the aftermath of the storm. “As soon as we found out we had power, we came back together,” she says. “We started working together right away. Luckily, our offices weren’t damaged. Since we were an exist- ing organization, we didn’t have to create all the processes. We went from being a small nonprofit to the premiere organization in New Orleans. It was really overwhelming, on the charitable side and the need side. Just answering phone calls was a full time job.” The city was a bleak place when Stilp re-
turned. It was still under martial law. There was a 6 p.m. curfew. “We didn’t have potable water; we could only drink bottled. There was electricity but no gas, so no hot water. We were evicted because there was a shortage of housing, and ours wasn’t damaged. The landlord said, ‘You can stay, but I’m doubling your rent.’ The city was vacant. Seventy-five percent of the people you saw were uniformed officials. Everyday things you take for granted weren’t there. There was no garbage collection. There were flies everywhere.”
B
ut there were reasons to hope. Stilp returned to her office to find three giant mail bags full of donations. The outpouring of support for Habitat
was overwhelming, and the phone rang off the hook with people wanting to come down and volunteer. Stilp remembers is as a stressful and emotional time. There was one grocery store open, and so shopping trips would take hours. “There were a lot of emotional reunions in line at the grocery store,” she says. “You’d see someone you hadn’t seen since the storm. You’d hear stories.” Stilp also listened to many stories on the
job. People affected by the storm would call in, wanting help, and wanting to be heard. “The hard part was to be able to listen,” Stilp says. “Everyone had a traumatic story and needed to be able to tell it. It was hard to have to say, ‘Get in line.’ None of us had disaster training. It was emotionally draining. But we were committed to making it work.” Because city offices weren’t open, Habitat
was unable to register for permits for new construction. So Stilp and her coworkers began to organize and train volunteers to gut rotting houses. They worked with the government to establish the first government base camp. They also began recruiting families to apply for home ownership of what would eventually become completed homes. They gutted 2,000 houses by the end of 2006 and had started their first house in November 2005. That was the first new residential construction in the city.
I
n February of 2006, Manuselis was work- ing at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Stilp recruited her for a volunteer coordinator position in New Orleans. “I said,
‘You’re smart, you’re competent, and you love the city,’” says Stilp. “Plus, I had friend with- drawal.” Manuselis accepted the job, although she had planned to pursue her PhD. “I had a life plan,” Manuselis said. “It was going to be undergrad, grad school, work for a few years. But a spot opened up and I had to take it. There was so much to do.” She describes the work, at first, as overwhelming. “We had maybe eight staff members at that point, whereas now we have 50 or 60,” she says. “We couldn’t keep up with all the interest pouring in. I had 150-250 emails a day.” Manuselis and Stilp worked 14-hour days, 6 days a week, on a good week. They kept this up for two years. Although it was hard work, the two were excited to be such an essential part of reconstruction. “Really from 2006 to 2008 was pretty insane,” says Manuselis. “But it was really exciting. We knew that we were involved in a historic project, rebuilding the 80 percent of the city that had been devastated.” A major project was the Musicians’ Village,
Louisiana and the oil spill
On April 20, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the extent of the damage is still unknown, it seems certain that the economies of Louisiana and of New Orleans will be affected. “You can smell it. There’s a very weird chemical scent in the air,” says Stilp. “We’re 45 minutes from the Gulf, so it hasn’t directly impacted way of life in the city yet. But a lot of fisheries just got boats fixed and are just rebuilding houses. The ramifications are far-reaching.” Says Manuselis, “Everybody’s in a state of anxiety because our economy is so heavily dependent on the fishing industry. There are outposts where oil has washed up.” Stilp reports that food prices have increased. Tourism is a main source of economic stimulus in New Orleans, so the spill may also affect that sector.
conceived by Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, the land appraisals for which, fortunate- ly, were set up before the storm. The village was originally conceived because musicians, who are so ingrained in the culture of New Orleans, had been unable to find work or housing before the storm. Afterwards, they were especially vulner- able. “This brought a lot of national attention,” says Stilp. “It generated media and interest and raised a lot of money.” They built 72 single-family houses, and 10 houses for elderly musicians to rent. Although that was the most public face of their effort, Habitat built over 200 housing units in addition to the Musicians’ Village.
unteer coordinator. They are starting to work in a new ward in honor of the anniversary. They are both pleased with the ways the city has started to rejuvenate and frustrated by the slow pace of recovery. “It’s hard to explain in a lot of ways,” says Stilp. “The French Quarter’s open, tourist at- tractions are open; Mardi Gras and the Jazz Fest had record attendance. On a surface level, things are great. But low-income areas are pretty ap- palling.” She feels that the city, state, and federal governments haven’t done enough to help tear down blighted properties. “It’s frustrating to see the decay,” she says. “We’ll put up a brand new
A 20 LOYOLA MAGAZINE
nd so, five years later, Stilp and Manuselis are still working at Habitat in New Orleans: Stilp as director of development, and Manuselis as vol-
THE SIERRA CLUB
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