For those of you with flexible schedules and potential free time, ACORN is looking for more volunteers to help with home-gutting in New Orleans in May. It's a powerful way to see things first-hand, and partner with a local organization that's doing good work on many levels.
Through May 31, volunteers receive free housing and food through FEMA's Camp Algiers. All you need to do is figure out how to get there. More info is on ACORN's website and below the fold.
ACORN is the local community group that Howard Dean and the DNC partnered with on Friday.
ACORN is a membership organization, representing mostly low and moderate-income residents of New Orleans. Many of their members were displaced and/or have had severe flood damage in their homes since Katrina. So far, ACORN has gutted over 1000 houses.
With a potential deadline of August 29 for residents to ...
clean out mold, tear out ruined walls and board up what remains of their homes, or risk having the city seize and demolish their houses
adds urgency to ACORN's efforts.
You'd be volunteering each day, from 9am - 2pm, with breaks, and protective gear provided, gutting houses. See "HOW TO GUT A HOUSE" from ACORN's website - (pictures are on their website):
STEP 1:
Identifying a house as a candidate for clean-out. Our Project Director, Scott Hagy, visits the home personally and assesses its condition.
STEP2:
The homeowner must then sign a Right of Entry form, granting ACORN and our employees the right to enter their home and clean it out.
STEP 3:
A crew of between eight to twelve people goes into the house and removes all personal items and furniture, being careful not to break or damage anything further.
STEP 4:
The same volunteers also remove appliances, including refrigerators that contain their own toxic sludge. The crew places all items outside the house.
STEP 5:
Anything that is salvageable, even remotely, is cleaned with MicroBan and returned to the homeowner. Items that are obviously too damaged to be cleaned are placed on the public right-of-way so that the city or FEMA contractors can pick them up.
STEP 6:
After all personal items are out, the crew proceeds to remove all drywall/sheetrock and insulation that has been damaged, as well as kitchen and bathroom cabinets, fixtures, and other items that were in the damaged area. If the water reached the ceiling, the crew removes the drywall or any ceiling panels, as well.
They remove drywall in sections of either four feet or eight feet, or completely. The reason for these measurements is that this allows for the easiest replacement time and cost, as new drywall pieces measure four by eight feet.
STEP 7:
After they have taken out all damaged portions of the interior walls, the crew treats for mold with MicroBan. This is a chemical that has been determined to be acceptable to all insurance companies and will remove mold to industry standards.
The crews wash the wooden studs using brushes to get all surfaces treated. They either brush or pressure-wash floors, depending on the material. Wood floors are brush-washed; concrete floors are pressure washed; both using MicroBan.
STEP 8:
If the roof has been damaged, the crew also tarps the roof, then secures the tarp to prevent further water damage from rain.
To sign up, use the form at ACORN's website or email rebuild@acorn.org. Or donate here
Also, feel free to email me at bfink@prodigy.net or see my blog for info related to my experiences there last week.