Somehow we shifted into an even higher gear today as we finished off task after task. The DeJean house went from being dark red with dark green trim in the morning to being light blue with dark blue trim at the end of the day. For a short period in between, the house was white from the primer. Additionally, all of the sheetrock for the remaining walls was cut and tacked in place. We didn’t fully install the wall pieces due to being unsure about the status and scope of the required inspection. We later found out that the inspection will be a full rough in inspection by the City. So our hopes of being able to complete the installation of the sheetrock including taping and mudding could not be realized today. However, there is still a chance that the inspection can be completed sometime tomorrow. If the inspection gets done, several of us plan to work as late as it takes to get the sheetrock finished.
We were fortunate to meet the owner of the house today. She dropped by as the exterior was being painted. It was an amazing experience to see how the work we’ve been doing is having an obvious impact. When Ms. DeJean and her son walked in the front door, she had tears in her eyes and all she said was “Oh my God”. After she made her way through her home, she thanked us over and over before she left.
After the work day, Susan Mestayer, the Executive Director of Rebuilding Together Calcasieu, cooked gumbo for us back at the housing center and then spoke to us from her heart as the Executive Director, as a mom of 2 children, and as a resident of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana which suffered devastation 3 years ago due to hurricane Rita but did not have the same national and global spotlight that New Orleans received. All of us had an opportunity to speak about what this week has meant to us. This week has really changed us all.
Tags: Volunteer
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