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Five years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Lafayette Habitat for Humanity has built 44 new homes

Lafayette, LA—Five years after one of the most destructive disasters in the United States’ history, Lafayette Habitat for Humanity marks the completion of 44 homes built in Lafayette and Vermilion parishes, many of which were built in partnership with families recovering from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made landfall in August and September 2005 and damaged houses along hundreds of square miles of the coast, displacing more than half a million families. Habitat for Humanity responded by beginning construction on its first house to help low-income, hurricane affected families just six weeks after Katrina struck.

Now, five years later, Habitat for Humanity marks the completion of 2,219 homes built in hurricane-affected areas, 44 of those in Lafayette and Vermilion parishes. Additionally, Habitat volunteers helped in preparation for rehabilitation by cleaning and removing debris from more than 2,500 houses.

Habitat for Humanity has been building homes in the Gulf Coast region for nearly 25 years. Before the hurricanes, the 21 Gulf Coast Habitat affiliates built 57 houses per year. Since 2005, these affiliates have built, rehabbed or repaired 400 houses per year. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita did not create an affordable housing crisis in these communities; they simply highlighted the poverty that exists and the overwhelming need for simple, decent housing.

For additional information about Habitat for Humanity’s Gulf Coast work, please read the five-year report at: www.habitat.org/disaster/gulfrecovery2010.