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Mr. Joseph

Neighborhood: Gentilly
Architecture Style: Shotgun

Mr. Joseph bought his home in the Gentilly neighborhood in 1995. “Mr. Vincent built a good one,” he says, referring to the builder who constructed his yellow shotgun house. The frame, made from cypress, still stands strong, but the inside of the house and Mr. Joseph’s belongings were ruined by flooding during Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Joseph has not lived in his home since the hurricane when he, his mother and sister were rescued by boat and brought to the Superdome.

“It’s strange. Thinking about what it was like [before the hurricane],” Mr. Joseph comments while looking around his unfinished home. Signatures of volunteers who gutted his home in 2006 are scribbled across an over head beam and are a reminder of the destruction caused by the storm. Mr. Joseph still recalls his favorite memories in the house being of his bright Australian Sheppard he rescued from the ASPCA. The front porch was his loyal friend’s favorite spot so Mr. Joseph set up a chair outside for his dog to watch neighbors pass by. That was indicative of Mr. Joseph’s neighborhood. When his family first moved to Gentilly, his Grandmother joked, “We are moving to the country.” Mr. Joseph loves the combination of Gentilly’s spaciousness yet close knit community feeling. “Everyone helps each other,” he says.

Mr. Joseph possesses the same sense of closeness with his family. Debra, his sister, lives only two doors down and has helped Mr. Joseph with rebuilding his home while he stays in a nursing home. “I get strength from my family, God and friends. My mother was a strong woman and my sister is strong.” Mr. Joseph has needed to be strong while facing the devastation of Katrina, the passing of his mother and the loss of his mobility to diabetes. Watching the progress on his home also gives Mr. Joseph strength. Mr. Joseph recalls his last visit home three weeks ago. “I came in here and used the word ‘happy’. I haven’t used that word in three years,” he says, while sitting in his soon to be kitchen.

Most importantly Mr. Joseph finds strength in himself. “I’m impressed with myself for being so strong. Not just with Katrina, but with being in a nursing home. I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead. I’ve already had to adjust to the nursing home and now I’ll have to adjust to my home. I am lucky and blessed.”

About Mr. Joseph:
+ Studied music at Southern University in Baton Rouge and University of Miami
+ DJed a jazz show on WWNO
+ Classical is his favorite type of music
+ Worked in film production on sound and video
+ Favorite movie is “Ben Hur”
+ Enjoys Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant

Your donation can purchase:
$22 – eleven square feet of bamboo flooring
$100 – install all 5 grab bars in Mr. Joseph’s home
$200 – buy and install a window

Project Photos:

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