For release: Sept. 15, 2009
One of the nation's most inspiring stories of neighborhood revival adds a new chapter this fall as volunteers build the 39th and 40th houses in a S
hreveport neighborhood once known as a haven of crime, poverty and drug abuse.
Today the Allendale neighborhood around the Community Renewal Friendship Houses is a safe haven of hope and new beginnings. The turnaround in the past four years - when Hurricane Katrina pushed thousands from New Orleans to the Shreveport area - is nothing short of remarkable and is winning praises from many segments of the country.
The two new three-bedroom houses are part of the ongoing collaboration between The Fuller Center and Community Renewal, with great support from many other partners. They should be complete in October and will be dedicated in honor of the late Millard Fuller, founder of The Fuller Center and Habitat for Humanity.
"We are celebrating the life of a man who b
rought hope to a lot of people. It's not just about building houses. We are providing an opportunity for people from all walks of life to come together and make a difference in the community. This is faith in action," said Lee Jeter, director of The Fuller Center for Housing of Northwest Louisiana.
"This provides hope for people who may not have had hope in their family for generations. They had lost hope and lost faith. We are restoring that hope and giving them a new lease on life.
"I am so proud to be part of the vision of Mack McCarter and CRI. This is a great community effort. We can make a difference. We need to be part of the change we want to see."
At one time a visitor could find an abundance of weeds, trash and used drug needles in the vacant lots in Allendale. Today, visitors find new houses on many of those lots, with flowers, lawn furniture and We Care signs safely on display in the front yards.
City residents who never dared enter the neighborhood a few years ago, now take in teams of volunteers to paint, clean, garden and interact with youth at the Friendship Houses.
Hurricane Katrina evacuee Marion Sullivan said she is thrilled to call Allendale her new home. She will live in one of the two new houses with her granddaughter and her two sons. Louise Cummings, who is confined to a wheelchair, will live in the other house.
"I praise the Lord for this," Ms. Sullivan said. "After Katrina, there was just hardship for a while. I never thought I would leave New Orleans. It was real heartbreaking. Everybody knew each other in our area. We were like family.
"After the hurricane the water was neck-deep. But God got us all out, all 20 of us. And now I am so happy. I thank God and all of the volunteers who made this possible. I thank God for bringing me to Shreveport."
The long-term plan calls for 60 new houses in the first phase of this effort to end substandard housing in Shreveport.
Community Renewal International is a nonprofit effort to restore safe and healthy communities through caring relationships. Founded in 1994, Community Renewal reaches at-risk youth through Friendship Houses built in impoverished neighborhoods, strengthens education through the Adult Renewal Academy, partners with The Fuller Center for Housing and connects caring partners who turn their neighborhoods into safe havens of friendship and support.
Contact: David Westerfield, director of communications
(318) 425-3222
davidwesterfield@communityrenewal.us
