I World
In New Orleans'
Ninth Ward, signs
of nature's fury are
ON THE COVER
still evident one
year later.
A Taste Of Tragedy
Detroit teens help rural Louisiana community
rebound from storms.
Josh Cohen of
West Bloomfield,
17, enjoys home-
cooked Southern
fried chicken.
Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor
oel Siegel and Josh
Cohen didn't know
each other when they
left for Abbeyville, La., July 2, but
six weeks, later they had enough
shared experiences to last a life-
time.
The teens participated in
repairing the world, one house at
a time, for this small community
hit hard by hurricanes Katrina . •
and Rita last August. They were
among 25 teens from across the
country taking part in a program
sponsored by the American
Jewish Society for Service, a New
York-based nonprofit organiza-
tion.
.
Following a rigorous applica-
tion process and about $3,000 in
tuition and fees, the boys headed
south not knowing each other
or other kids in the group — an
AJSS requirement that helps
build solidarity among the group.
Cohesiveness proved to be a good
thing, too, because they shared
j
close quarters at the Lighthouse
for Jesus Church school building
where all 25 slept on air mattress-
es and had to share one shower.
But, creature comforts were
not expected. These kids came
to make a difference, to learn
new skills and to interact with
people very different from them-
selves. And they did. They also
became addicted to Southern
food, especially fried chicken
cooked by Shirley, wife of Lester
Levene, whose family home they
were rebuilding almost from the
ground up.
• "I had my first experience with
a circular saw:' said Cohen, 17,
of West Bloomfield, a senior at
the Frankel Jewish Academy of
Metropolitan Detroit. "Someone
asked, `Hey, you want to do it?' I
said yes. It's the best way to learn.
I got better. Now I'm a circular
saw pro."
.
Both teens worked hard pulling
up floors, hauling and installing
insulation, renovating a kitchen.
You name it — whatever Levene
needed help with, these teens did
it. Mostly, it was exhausting, dirty,
sweaty work.
Making An Impact
But both boys say they'd do it
again if they could, but AJSS rules
say teens can only participate
once.
"Our goal was to help rebuild
houses for families and make
an impact',' said Siegel, 16, of
Orchard Lake, a junior at West
Bloomfield High School. "We did
rebuild Lester's house. People
were very appreciative."
"They saw us working and it
gave them hope that they weren't
forgotten, that people were still
coming to help," said Cohen, who
likened the program to a Jewish
"Habitat for Humanity."
"The work was hard, but the
payoff was worth it:' Siegel added.
They both noticed a big differ-
ence between suburban and rural
life.
"At home, we could drive to •
visit friends after work, but there,
nothing was nearby, and there
was nothing to do:' Cohen said,
Tragedy on page 34
Rebirth
New Orleans
native sees
scant progress
one year later.
Alan Smason
Cleveland Jewish News
I
still remember the musty
smell that permeated the
city of my birth on my
first visit back to New Orleans
after Hurricane Katrina. It was
ever-present and pervasive,
hanging in the air some seven
32
August 31 • 2006
weeks after the August 2005
deluge.
During the fall and winter,
I returned time after time,
expecting rebuilding and
rebirth. I found little or no
progress on most fronts.
As the nation recalls the first
anniversary of this tragedy
this week, many sections
of New Orleans and the
Mississippi Gulf Coast remain
in the same state they were
immediately following the
storm. While some headway
has been made, so very much
more still needs to be done.
Like anyone else who has
survived a major life-threaten-
ing experience, I have lived
with survivor's guilt for these
past 12 months. Ensconced
in the relative safety of
Cleveland, working at a new
iN
job, and trying to keep up with
the progress or lack thereof in
the "City That Care Forgot,"
I have not forgotten how to
care.
For those of us still in the
affected community-at-large
and in the Jewish commu-
nity in particular, the pain of
the aftermath remains quite
severe. According to the
Jewish Federation of Greater
New Orleans, approximately
one-third of the Jewish com-
munity has yet to return, and
many, like me, are not certain
if they ever will.
Some 11 months after resi-
dents were allowed back into
areas of metropolitan New
Orleans, piles of rotted and
weathered lumber and sheet-
rock still line many streets.
FEMA trailers are strewn
.0
0
Prayer books and other religious books at Beth Israel
Congregation in New Orleans were destroyed by 10 feet of water
from Hurricane Katrina last August.
across all neighborhoods,
some attractively colored with
Mardi Gras bunting or signs
that state, "Rebuilding to
stay." But these are still trail-
ers, and living in a trailer can-
not long be romanticized.
For a variety of reasons
– including lack of insurance
Little Rebirth on page 34