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| Jim teaching volunteers about the finer points of house gutting.
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Recently, SAFER has merged with the Phoenix of New Orleans in an attempt to maximize the effectiveness of both organizations. Through this partnership, we have combined our resources and our respective accumulation of knowledge to create a variety of programs designed to meet the needs of the families we have the opportunity to help as well as the neighborhoods that we work in. SAFER's focus remains to match volunteers with families who are in need of help, inside of the larger context of PNOLA's community work.
SAFER takes a direct approach to
rebuilding the city of New Orleans, offering free labor to people who would
otherwise be unable to afford the cost of repairing their homes. We communicate
directly with our families about their needs and their hopes for their rebuilt
homes, and with community leaders and organizations about their plans for
revitalizing their neighborhood. We realize that rebuilding can be a huge
challenge, especially for homeowners who have very little money or also have the
responsibility of a job and caring for a family, so we work to remove as much of the burden from our families as possible.
SAFER volunteers learn a variety of construction skills, led by a young, but well-trained group of full time volunteers. Their work can
save a New Orleans family thousands in labor costs and usually takes only
a few months to complete. SAFER volunteers show that a small, determined group
can offer real help to a community by working together to find the resources and people willing to give their time.
Both local students and visitors from around the United States volunteer on our various projects throughout the year. To date, nearly 2000 SAFER volunteers have
gutted 87 homes and significantly contributed to rebuilding 20 more. In rebuilding a hurricane-damaged house,
the volunteers not only have the chance to help a family, but to develop a
relationship with them. SAFER wants to bring fellow New Orleanians home, to help
our neighbors rather than provide impersonal charity. We like to think of our relationship more as a community BBQ than a contract.
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SAFER
310 South Broad Street,
New Orleans, Louisiana, 70119
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