Day Two: Gutting

Tuesday found us split into two groups, some of us worked in a mobile respite care unit around many parts of the city while the rest of us spent time in the Lakeview area gutting a large house. The neighborhood fell victim to a levee that broke nearby, and many homes saw water lines up to 8 feet. More houses in this area are in the process of rebuilding and there we saw a sparse amount of neighbors at home, working on their lawns etc. Tearing down ceilings took most of the time, as many of the older homes of New Orleans use the tough material plaster to cover their walls which can be difficult to take down. And with the mixture of plastic, wood, and the occasional piece of sheet rock from the ceilings, also came an amazing amount of fiberglass which completely covered the floor as well as our faces. As we were making our piles of dirt, a construction crew from FEMA came to haul it away and we witnessed some pretty great caterpillar driving skill. Definitely a fufilling day!