Project Funders: Enterprise Community Partners, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Home Depot Foundation
Project Partners: Enterprise Community Partners, Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, Community Development Fund, Columbia University, and Tulane University
Project Contact: Jonathan Wilson, jwilson@nchh.org, 443.539.4162
Project Description: This demonstration project provided critical information about the cost of and best approaches for decontaminating homes that were damaged by flooding from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The project team selected three homes, owned by low- or moderate-income families, that experienced between two to six feet of water above the first floor. NCHH supervised the health aspects of the program, including before-and-after environmental testing, worker protection issues, and documentation of the costs and procedures. A committee of healthy housing experts and scientists provided advice regarding the demolition, decontamination, and worker protection approaches to be used by the project team. Following the completion of the demonstration, the project team published a "how-to" guide (Creating a Healthy Home: A Field Guide for Clean-up of Flooded Homes) and a video (Mold Clean-up Guidance for New Orleans Area Residents Affected by Hurrican Katrina) for contractors, community-based housing organizations, homeowners, and tradespeople who are involved in the cleanup and rebuilding efforts.