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September 05, 2008
Hurricane-Resistant Housing Gets a 'Lift' From Fund Raising
Church World Service, in Elkhart, Ind., is embarking on a new campaign to raise $1-million for the construction of affordable, hurricane-resistant houses, after a small group of similar homes proved capable of withstanding the fury of Hurricane Gustav this week.
The Terrebonne Readiness and Assistance Coalition, in Houma, La., where Gustav made landfall, had already joined with Oxfam America and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to design and build five low-cost “lift” houses that are both hurricane and flood resistant.
Nonprofit groups — including Church World Service, the American Red Cross, Catholic Social Services, and the United Way for South Louisiana — helped finance the homes, which are elevated 10- to 14-feet above sea level and designed to be energy efficient. The Louisiana group aims to raise enough money to erect 25 more of the houses about 60 miles southwest of New Orleans.
The homes cost $145,000, with as much as half of that amount to be paid for by the homeowner. The balance will be provided by donations, and each homeowner will be required to perform “sweat equity” or public service as part of the deal.
Matt Hackworth, a spokesman for Church World Service, said that after Gustav hit, damage to one lift house workers visited was minimal. The house “had one shingle blown off and one of the blades on a ceiling fan on the porch was missing. That was the only damage, and there are houses all around this that are knocked off their stilts. So it survived a real-world test.”
Mr. Hackworth said the $1-million campaign goal may increase as hurricane season goes on. Church World Service, he said, is also using donations to provide some relief items, such as hygiene kits and blankets, to hurricane victims.
—Cassie J. Moore
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