Habitat Delivers First 'House in a Box' to Hurricane Survivors
On Monday morning, the first ''house in a box'' was delivered to a Hurricane Katrina survivor family.
On Monday morning, the first “house in a box” was delivered to a Hurricane Katrina survivor family.
Paulette Lindsey and her family in Slidell, La., were the first recipients to receive a home from “Humanity Plaza” after last week’s joint effort by NBC News “Today,” Habitat for Humanity International and Warner Music Group to build at least 100 homes for the Gulf Coast.
Lindsey, a single mother working as a custodian in a school, and her family were grateful for their new home.
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"I feel that I'm just a simple person that has been shown more love than I could ever have imagined," Lindsey told NBC News “Today” when the new home was delivered on Monday. "I just feel blessed and honored to know that there is still love in this world.”
Lindsey applied for a Habitat home last year. She and her two children have lived in a battered trailer for 20 years.
Last week, thousands of volunteers constructed homes in New York City, Jackson, Miss., and Los Angeles. In New York, the Rockefeller Plaza was renamed “Humanity Plaza” during the 5-day around-the-clock construction project. Habitat for Humanity International partnered with NBC news “Today,” Warner Music Group, Lowe’s and other supporters to raise millions of dollars for the construction of at least 100 homes in the next two months.
“Habitat has been a remarkable organization since its founding,” said Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu at the site of the Habitat home delivery this morning on the “Today” show. “It has built so many houses in so many place, and in our great time of need in Louisiana [and] throughout all of the Gulf Coast, Habitat is going to step in and help us in a big way, we couldn’t be happier.”
“Make a Difference Today,” Habitat’s short-term kickoff project, began on Sept. 26 at 5 a.m. and ended on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m., in New York. In Jackson, Miss., the project began at 6 a.m. Monday in the parking lot of the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, and worked through noon each day, Monday through Friday. NBC’s Today Show provided media coverage for Jackson and Los Angeles Humanity constructions as well as the highly publicized effort in New York City.
“Obviously these homes were pre-built last week so we are excited to get these homes on the ground and be able to take part in one of the first homes going back into the hurricane affected areas,” said Molly Parrish, Director of Media Relations for Habitat for Humanity International. “We can’t wait to continue to build in those areas.”
Slidell, La., is a hurricane-devastated city with 85 percent of its homes either damaged or destroyed, and 12,000 people made homeless, according to NBC News “Today.” Habitat and partners announced on the “Today” show that Lindsey’s home is the first among 60 homes coming to the regions with thousands more in need of a home.
