Students head south for winter
Volunteer effort targets hurricane-ravaged homes in Louisiana
Sarah Kyo
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: News
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While other people are going on vacation or spending time with their families during winter break, about 30 students will travel to Louisiana to help out with the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Students from a variety of backgrounds and with different majors, such as biology, English and sociology, will volunteer their time in New Orleans Jan. 5-14, said Victoria Chavez, a junior sociology major with a concentration in community change.
Chavez said that SJSU students also traveled to the Gulf Coast last winter, though they mostly talked and listened to people, while witnessing what had been left behind.
"This year, we're actually going to get our hands dirty," said Rochelle Jackson-Smarr, a senior English major,
Chavez said the purpose of the trip is to connect to a nonprofit in the Gulf Coast called ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Chavez said SJSU students will work with this grassroots organization to go through the wreckage left from the hurricanes and gut the houses so they can be renovated and refurbished for families who wish to return to their homes.
"Twenty percent of the houses in the community need to be gutted," Chavez said.
Another project that students will do is cutting people's lawns, particularly the lawns of people who had evacuated the area. Chavez said otherwise, houses with lawns that reach more than 40-feet tall will be reposed.
"Communities across the Gulf Coast suffer from crumbling roads and water systems, ill-constructed flood protection and closed police stations, fire houses, schools and hospitals," said Stephen Bradberry, head state organizer of ACORN Louisiana, in a press release.
SJSU has been involved with the Gulf Coast, thanks to the Gulf Coast Civics Work Project started by Associate Professor of Sociology Scott Myers-Lipton. According to its Web site, the goal of this project is to establish 100,000 jobs for Gulf Coast residents to rebuild their communities.
Students from a variety of backgrounds and with different majors, such as biology, English and sociology, will volunteer their time in New Orleans Jan. 5-14, said Victoria Chavez, a junior sociology major with a concentration in community change.
Chavez said that SJSU students also traveled to the Gulf Coast last winter, though they mostly talked and listened to people, while witnessing what had been left behind.
"This year, we're actually going to get our hands dirty," said Rochelle Jackson-Smarr, a senior English major,
Chavez said the purpose of the trip is to connect to a nonprofit in the Gulf Coast called ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Chavez said SJSU students will work with this grassroots organization to go through the wreckage left from the hurricanes and gut the houses so they can be renovated and refurbished for families who wish to return to their homes.
"Twenty percent of the houses in the community need to be gutted," Chavez said.
Another project that students will do is cutting people's lawns, particularly the lawns of people who had evacuated the area. Chavez said otherwise, houses with lawns that reach more than 40-feet tall will be reposed.
"Communities across the Gulf Coast suffer from crumbling roads and water systems, ill-constructed flood protection and closed police stations, fire houses, schools and hospitals," said Stephen Bradberry, head state organizer of ACORN Louisiana, in a press release.
SJSU has been involved with the Gulf Coast, thanks to the Gulf Coast Civics Work Project started by Associate Professor of Sociology Scott Myers-Lipton. According to its Web site, the goal of this project is to establish 100,000 jobs for Gulf Coast residents to rebuild their communities.
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