Eva Francis

Neighborhood: Holy Cross
Architecture Style: Creole Cottage

Ms. Eva Francis is a very pleasant woman living in Holy Cross neighborhood. Ms. Francis was born in Tylertown, Mississippi in 1945, but Louisiana has been her home for 54 years. In 1971, she purchased her house on 5531 Burgundy Street in the Holy Cross neighborhood. She loves her house, which she estimates was built around 1918.

In the time that has passed since Ms. Francis purchase her home, three generations have lived there. Currently 5531 Burgundy Street gives shelter to Ms. Francis, Patrick, on of her four sons and her pet dog. Her home also provides a space for frequent visits from her very large family. In addition to her sons, Ms. Francis has 17 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

When Katrina hit New Orleans, the entire neighborhood was flooded and Ms. Francis’s house was severely damaged. She estimates that there was about 8 feet of water in her house. She fled the city and evacuated to Mississippi to stay with her brother. Ms Francis says that the greatest challenge in returning home was trying to get home to see the damage and not knowing the location of her children. Once she secured her trailer from FEMA, she moved back to New Orleans to begin rebuilding her home.

Ms. Francis has used all her money to repair her house, but the roof was improperly installed and needs to be replaced and her home is in need of many other smaller repairs. With the help of Rebuilding Together New Orleans’ wonderful volunteers and donor’s, RTNO looks forward to completing Ms. Francis’ home.

$12 can tile 6 square feet the kitchen floor
$54 can purchase 3 gallons of interior paint
$85 can install the kitchen and bathroom cabinets