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Woman Builder Works Miracles for Katrina Shelter Victims
Serving as general contractor, Toni Wendel, president of Olde World Builders and Remodelers, LLC and current president of the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans, recently completed work on the 4,000-square-foot, 24-bed women’s shelter at the historic New Orleans Rescue Mission, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
On behalf of HomeAid, Wendel renovated the 100-year old building with the help of her crew and several hundred volunteers — from college students, who assembled furniture, to adult volunteers from all over the country who offered everything from their hearts and hands to their carpentry skills.
The shelter is the first new facility to open for Katrina evacuees in New Orleans and fills an ongoing need for housing for women who are being vacated from FEMA-funded motels or are still living in tent communities and on cruise ships.
Wendel, who has been in the business for 15 years and grew up in a builder household, took over Olde World Remodeling when her husband passed away several years ago. The family-run business includes her daughter, who manages the office, and her son, who is in charge in the field.
“Toni, who is from the New Orleans area, saw a vision of what the shelter could be and dedicated herself to restoring it to its original splendor,” said Diane Dempcy, director of HomeAid’s Gulf Coast Rebuilding Fund.
That dedication extended to her crew, who helped her complete the shelter renovations on a really tight timeframe, noted Wendel. The project, which turned out to be much more involved than originally planned, required working on weekends to complete the job.
Calling the effort “little short of a miracle,” Wendel noted that unlike many other builders in the area, she retained all but one of her staff in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Having a full crew on hand enabled her to complete the project while still managing her other commitments.
Expressing her dedication to the project and to her city, Wendel said that, “Nothing will deter us. In the long run, it will be a better city.” She also noted that the success of the long rebuilding effort ahead hinges on educating builders to make sure that things are done correctly and to code. “It’s important that we work with licensed builders,” she added.
Although it was not flooded, the shelter suffered damage to its roof, chimney, siding, porches and walls, both from wind and leaking water. Fortunately, the building didn’t have to be torn down to the studs, Dempcy noted. But it did have to be leveled out and the floors needed to be restored. A new utility room was added to the back of the building and a porch was added to the front. The cost of installing hurricane-proof windows was covered by Pella Windows, and James Hardie Building Products donated the exterior plank.
“Just last week, we visited the St. Bernard Parish tent city,” said Dempcy. “Looking at one of the tents with its scattered cots that contained bedding, televisions and work clothes, I was overwhelmed by the loneliness and despair of the people living there,” she said. “There was no privacy and no place to store their belongings. It was an overwhelming validation of what HomeAid is doing in New Orleans and around the Gulf Coast. Although the exact statistics are still hard to quantify, it is clear that the need for transitional housing continues to be dire.”
Working in partnership with its Gulf Coast Rebuilding Fund donors Ameriquest Mortgage Company, Argent Mortgage and AMC Mortgage Services, HomeAid oversaw more than $400,000 in renovations to the shelter. The work was completed over a three-month period, and included the direct involvement of the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans, Georgia-Pacific Corporation and CalPASC.
HomeAid is the nation's largest builder of housing for the temporary homeless and has helped more than 60,000 men, women and children. It now has locations in 17 markets within 11 states, has completed 117 housing projects nationwide and has another 55 projects currently in development. Altogether, HomeAid, which was established in 1989 as a non-profit organization by the Building Industry Association of Southern California, manages combined finance/construction assets exceeding $111 million.
For more information or to make a donation to HomeAid’s Gulf Coast Rebuilding Fund, call 949-258-0850 or visit www.homeaid.org. Contributions can also be sent to HomeAid Gulf Coast Rebuilding Fund, 3919 Westerly Place, Suite 200, Newport Beach, CA 92660.
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