This Mold House

LOCAL TEENS TAKE A HAND IN THEIR FUTURE

Saturday, August 12, 2006

By Renee Peck

"You -- all of us -- are marked for life by what happened here, and if you go out into the world and you shrug it off -- if you are soooo over the Katrina thing -- then you are doing a disservice to yourself and to the community that gave you your spirit and identity."

-- Times-Picayune columnist Chris Rose to Ursuline Academy students at graduation 2006

Over the summer, I've occasionally taken our daughter, a junior at St. Martin's Episcopal School, with me to gut flooded houses belonging to Times-Picayune colleagues. It's a grass-roots effort started by associate editor Suzanne Stouse, and Stewart and I both think it's important that kids participate.

"When people ask Katherine 10 years from now what she did to help after Katrina, I want her to be able to say she did something tangible, like pulling moldy Sheetrock from flooded houses," Stewart says. (Actually, she prefers sledgehammer work; something about banging big holes in the wall fills a primeval teenage need.)

Stewart would really like Lakeview twins Patrick and William Stoudt. In 10 years, the two 17-year-olds might well be able to say they saved their entire neighborhood.

The high school seniors, both Eagle Scouts, got in on the local recovery effort early and creatively. They had evacuated to Houston, attended night school there until December, then returned for the spring semester at Jesuit, commuting from a rented apartment Uptown.

"Our house (on Canal Boulevard) looked like a bomb had gone off and killed everybody," William said.

Patrick added, "We had seen pictures of it, but the reality was way worse."

They wanted to do something tangible. So, with Rummel friend Wade Trosclair, they started Youth Rebuilding New Orleans. Check it out at www.yrno.com. The group, loosely composed of chapters from Jesuit, Rummel, Sacred Heart, Mount Carmel and assorted individuals from across the city, has been pitching in to help with a variety of recovery projects. Jesuit service director Helen Swan helps coordinate projects, and Rummel guidance counselor Bob Whitman oversees the group, which met weekly during the spring semester and will reconvene this fall.

YRNO teens have helped clean out churches and libraries, and painted public school hallways. They have mowed towering weeds from neutral grounds, bending at least one steel mower blade in the process. They've stripped ruined drywall from the homes of the elderly and poor.

"For the most part we've gutted houses," Patrick said. "And we've worked with the Katrina Krewe, painted a convent, just done whatever we could."

"There are a lot of groups coming in from other parts of the country, too, and we've acted as ambassadors for them," William said. "Sort of a liaison to help find projects and give them advice."

Now the brothers want to take the teenage recovery effort citywide.

"We would like every school in the city to have a chapter in YRNO," Patrick said.

To that end, the organization is sponsoring a Youth Recovery Day on Aug. 19 and is asking "every teen in town" to come help.

"We'd like every school that opens this week to make a public announcement about it," Patrick said. "We'd like students from around the city to participate."

The first Recovery Day will focus on projects in Lakeview, with the goal of branching out on later occasions.

"It this is successful, we'd like to do one next month in Mid-City, the month after in Gentilly, or wherever," Patrick said.

Most of the Youth Recovery Day efforts will tackle green-space projects, such as cleaning up school grounds, neutral grounds, public parks and overgrown lawns.

"We'll have a tent and a table set up," Patrick said. "You can just show up and register and get assigned to a project."

"If you're not involved in a youth group but want to help somehow, we want you," William added. "Even sixth-graders can pick up trash."

The business community has been generous to the YRNO, donating everything from cases of water to shovels and tools. But more is needed.

"If you have a lawn mower, bring it," William said.

In addition to their volunteer efforts, the Stoudt teens have started a lawn business in Lakeview, and have been busy hacking weeds and mowing tall grass for residents both near and far; they've emailed before-and-after photos to homeowners who haven't returned.

"We realized someone was needed to cut all these lawns and we could do that instead of earning $6.50 at a grocery store -- and at the same time fill a need," Patrick said.

As the YRNO founders note, "The future is our future." The Stoudts, at least, are determined to make it a good one.

CALLING ALL TEENS FOR YOUTH RECOVERY DAY

Youth Rebuilding New Orleans is an organization of New Orleans area high school youth with a common goal of rebuilding a better New Orleans. It offers teens across the metro area the opportunity to get directly involved in the recovery effort. See www.yrno.com for details and how your school can start a chapter.

Here are details on the group's Youth Recovery Day, Aug. 19.

WHAT: A call to action for all youth in the metro area to help rebuild the city. This first event will be held in Lakeview, with future events targeting other neighborhoods. Activities will vary from beautification projects along city streets to debris removal to reconstruction efforts. A rally for all participants will be held afterward at the St. Dominic school yard.

WHERE: Corner of Harrison Avenue and Canal Boulevard; look for tent and registration table.

WHEN: Aug. 19, 9 a.m. to noon

STUDENTS: If your youth group or school is interested in participating as a group, contact YRNO at youthday@yrno.com, or call Bob Whitman at (504) 615-9931. Individuals can simply show up at the registration tent to be assigned to a project.

BUSINESSES: Donations are needed, including hot dogs and soft drinks, lawn equipment, trash bags and the like. Contact youthday@yrno.com or call (504) 615-9931.

Jesuit seniors and twins William and Patrick Stoudt admire the progress of the renovation of their Canal Boulevard home, which got more than 8 feet of water from Hurricane Katrina. The brothers belong to Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, which is organizing a Youth Recovery Day at which local teens can help with community rebuilding efforts.