Help Holy Cross

Make It Right with the Saints!

Pam’s Place

Very simply, without Pam Dashiell, the Make It Right Foundation would not be helping Lower 9th Ward families to rebuild their lives and community.

In post-Katrina recovery efforts, Pam was a central and galvanizing force, encouraging others and seizing the opportunity to turn a devastated landscape into a model for disaster recovery and sustainable living for the city of New Orleans, the rest of the country and even communities around the world. In her chosen role as a champion of sustainability and with her passion for forwarding her vision to “sustain the 9,” she encouraged volunteers like Brad Pitt and experts from around the world to convene in the neighborhood to implement innovative redevelopment opportunities. 

I first met Pam in January of 2007 while working on a feasibility analysis for Brad Pitt’s concept for building green, affordable houses on a large scale in the Lower 9th. Brad and Pam worked closely together on the Global Green architecture competition, and his work with that project and with community leaders like Pam inspired him to want to do even more for the Lower 9th. Despite having attended hundreds of post-Katrina planning meetings by that time, Pam agreed to attend the first community meeting we held in March of 2007 at the Common Ground Relief house after I promised her that we would take her advice: “Don’t just plan; DO something!”  But by that I certainly don’t mean to imply that Pam was weary of attending meetings. In fact, following that meeting, Pam and other community leaders continued to meet weekly and formed the Lower 9th Ward Stakeholders Coalition. However, in contrast to her unwavering determination, had it not been for Pam’s encouragement to stick with it when the going got tough, I may have abandoned our rebuilding efforts too soon.

Welcome Home Thanksgiving Celebration @ Make It Right

Join Make It Right for a Welcome Home Celebration for families returning home to the Lower 9th Ward and an open house to  inform the community at-large about the features and  benefits of owning a Make It Right home and the process  for becoming a MIR homeowner.

• Date: Saturday, November 21, 2009
• Time: 2:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Location: LANDSCAPE RESOURCE DEPOT: 1742 Deslonde (Corner of Deslonde & N. Roman)

A community event: Tours of the MIR homes, music, family, food, fun!

Snow in the Lower Ninth Ward

A beautiful blanket of snow covered Holy Cross and the Lower Ninth on December 11th...Darryl Malek-Wiley sent along these fantastic photos of Bayou Bienvenue, the Make It Right project, and the Claiborne Avenue Bridge across the Industrial Canal. Enjoy!
ALL PHOTOS: Darryl Malek-Wiley

Home Sweet "Make It Right" Home

PHOTO: Howie Luvzus

It's move-in day for six Lower Ninth Ward families who are taking possession of their new sustainable homes - the first of 150 affordable houses. Some nice media coverage of this important event, including "Families move into homes that Pitt built" by the Associated Press:

"It was a bittersweet moment for Brad Pitt, walking through the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood where families were preparing to spend their first holidays since Hurricane Katrina.

Those families are moving into the first six houses built through Pitt's Make It Right foundation. One home was already strewn with green garland, lights, wreaths and red bows.

Still, Pitt is restless.

"I'm really happy for the families that are going to be here, but I can't help but think about the families that aren't," Pitt said Monday. "It's a push-pull for me. The excitement is that it's being proven, that it's working. The frustration is that we have a long way to go."

Read the full story here.

Make It Right: the Houses That Brad Built

The Today Show's Ann Curry revisits Brad Pitt and the Lower Ninth Ward's Make It Right Project as Inez Converse and other residents move in for the first time - home for the holidays.

New Orleans: The Water Line

“New Orleans: The Water Line” is a stunning new entry in the PBS series e2 Design that had its debut last month. In it, you'll see and hear Tricia Jones of NENA, Pam Dashiell of CSED and Jed Horne, former Metro Editor for The Times-Picayune – plus many other familiar faces from the neighborhood and those who have played such a vital role in helping the Lower Ninth Ward rebuild and recover after Katrina. There's good reason why e2's producers chose this fragile place for their episode on sustainability in New Orleans.



"New Orleans: The Water Line" begins:

“In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the citizens of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward weren't about to watch their community disappear, even as government officials at all levels turned a blind eye to their plight. This story profiles community leaders fighting to rebuild the neighborhood sustainably, and the outsiders – including renowned architect Bob Berkebile, and organizations Global Green and Brad Pitt's Make It Right – who are working to make this possible.”

Narrated by Brad Pitt and directed by Tad Fettig, this episode is beautifully done, with footage from all over the Lower Nine and interviews with some of those who are helping to create change here: Allen Eskew of Eskew+Dumez+Ripple; Beth Galante and Matt Petersen of Global Green; and Tom Darden, III of Make It Right. There's a great scene with Bob Berkebile at Bayou Bienvenue, when he describes what's at stake:

“We’re living probably at the most powerful moment in human history, and we are defining what future human life will be like – or whether or not there will be future human life on the planet. In areas where the most dramatic change is happening, it’s usually an area where you want to create a laboratory to really explore that and to see how much change can be made.”

Near the end of "The Water Line", Pam sums it up nicely:

“In a lot of ways, it seems to be kind of a nexus for change...and for advancement. We have an unprecedented opportunity to remake and restore an old, old place with a deep, deep culture, and we’ve got to take that opportunity.”

To see the full episode online, go to e2 Series and click on "webcasts".

Make It Right: More Bill, More Brad, More Ground-Breaking Photos

The Sierra Club's Darryl Malek-Wiley sent along these terrific photos of the Make It Right ground-breaking ceremonies from March 16th.

With shovels in hand, former President Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt are joined by neighborhood leaders – including Pam Dashiell of Holy Cross (far right).

Brad and Bill walk down Tennessee Avenue to survey what's left of this part of the Lower Ninth Ward, post Katrina.

PHOTOS: Darryl Malek-Wiley

Make It Right @ Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras may be long past, but Marna David of Holy Cross just found these photos she took of Make It Right staff people at the St. Ann's Walking Parade!

PHOTOS: Marna David

Bill, Brad & the Ground-Breaking at Make It Right

WORDS & PHOTOS: Ariane Wiltse

More than 700 college students on spring break and fresh from former president Bill Clinton's talk on how they can be a catalyst for change in the world, spent a picture-perfect day in March clearing abandoned, weed-covered lots and sidewalks in the section of Lower Ninth Ward closest to the Industrial Canal levee breach. The area undergoing the massive cleanup was chosen last year by Brad Pitt as the location for his Make it Right redevelopment project. With the help of ongoing donations, Pitt hopes to build 150 energy efficient, yet affordable, houses for residents who lost their homes in the 2005 flood.

Inspired by Clinton's recent speech at Tulane University, Mary Jean O'Malley, from the University of Denver, shovels debris from a clogged gutter in the Lower Ninth Ward. Prior to hearing the former president speak, O'Malley focused on making a difference in her home community. Now she says, she sees ways that "localized changes" can affect the world. "His speech inspired me to take my leadership experience to the next level," she said. "Little things can change the world."

New Orleans City Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis talks with planners from Brad Pitt's Make it Right organization at the groundbreaking event. Rather than having politicians cut symbolic ribbons, hundreds of college volunteers cut down dense 3-foot high weeds – to clear way for rebuilding, and residents hope, recovery.

Holy Cross residents.

Former President Bill Clinton and Hollywood mega-star Brad Pitt make their way down a receiving line of hundreds of college students, spanning blocks, thanking and encouraging their efforts.

(left) Weedwackers, left by volunteers eager for a glimpse of Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt, lay on all that's left of a home in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward – a cement slab.

(below) After the crowds dispersed, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie joined a group of elementary students and their teachers from McDonogh 15 at crawfish boil. After eating, the students sang songs, danced and showed the Hollywood super couple a hand trick or two, while a film crew captured everything.