Perched on his porch and looking onto the sea of busy orange shirts behind him, Albert Christopher is beaming. It’s been 10 years since he’s had full use of his house, and today is a big step in the right direction for getting his home back.
A 77-year-old Air Force veteran, Mr. Albert, as the neighbors call him, has been a resident of the Algiers Riverview community in New Orleans for more than 50 years.
“We raised six children in this house,” Mr. Albert says, reminiscing. “We bought it so the children would have a backyard to play in, but oh man, look at that backyard now. And the inside of the house, well that’s a whole other story.”
The story of the inside? Well, for the past 10 years, Mr. Albert has been confined to one area of his home due to damage from Hurricane Katrina. When the storm hit in 2005, the Algiers Riverview area of New Orleans was hit hardest by extreme winds. Mr. Albert’s home suffered extensive roof damage, leaving his house unlivable and forcing him to evacuate to Baton Rouge.
But, the urge for home and New Orleans was overwhelming, and he had to get back.
“Even though you could look straight up inside my house and see the sky, I had to get home,” said Mr. Albert. “I put a blue tarp over the holes. I always wished I could get up there and fix it on my own, but the older I get, the harder that kind of repair gets.”
Without means to fully repair the roof, additional damage to the interior of his home escalated over time – all elements of the outdoors have poured into his home for 10 years. The backyard took a hard hit during the storm as well, with fencing and trees pulled from the ground. Mr. Albert even pointed to an area of the yard where a house used to sit before it broke in half during the storm.
Today, those tarps are down and the roof is back in place. Team Depot, alongside Rebuilding New Orleans, is not only making sure that Mr. Albert’s roof is intact, but also dedicating time and effort to make sure repairs on the interior and exterior of his house bring his home back to life.
The result? A very happy Mr. Albert thinks his house will finally feel like the home he purchased 50 years ago, long before the storm.
