By Amanda Gross, Intake Assistant

After over eight months of varying obstacles, Rebuilding Together New Orleans is coming into the final stages of receiving funds from the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency (LHFA) for three of its homeowners. As a pilot program, obtaining the funds has been an enlightening process and has required flexibility on the part of both RTNO staff and the homeowners trying to rebuild their houses. It has been a long road for the homeowners and they are extremely eager to return to their homes.

The three homeowners who will be the first to benefit from these funds have been through an extraordinary amount of adversity that has prevented them from returning to their homes sooner. One of these homeowners is Ms. Ruthie Lee Jones, an extremely sweet, friendly, elderly woman who has been in the Rebuilding Together system for about a year. She has patiently navigated an application process consisting of a constant stream of paperwork, document collection and a variety of inspections.

Ms. Jones has been through her fair share of hardship in the past five years. In addition to losing her husband shortly before Hurricane Katrina completely destroyed her home, she then suffered two strokes and a broken foot. To further complicate matters, the money she was supposed to get from her insurance company went directly to paying off her mortgage without her knowledge. Road Home gave her less assistance than was needed to complete her house because she had received recovery funds from insurance, even though she was unable to use that money for home repair. With the repair money she did receive from Road Home, she raised her house and completed as much of the work that she could until her funds were depleted.

Another homeowner that will benefit from the allocation of LHFA funds is RTNO’s Homeowner of the Month, Ms. Johnette Mistretta. A single mother, she is currently living in her trailer with her three children and grandson who was born just days prior to the storm. Her little house she was so proud of was destroyed by the storm and is completely unlivable at present. A victim of contractor fraud of around $40,000, she had well under the necessary amount to complete her home. Additionally, she lost her income due to a back injury and could only collect unemployment for a short amount of time. With three children and a newborn grandchild to support, she was forced to use some of the recovery money to live while searching for work and recovering from her injury.

Situations like these are common for New Orleans homeowners, particularly those who have yet to return home. RTNO homeowners are the low-income, elderly, disabled, first responders and single guardians of minor children who have been unable to get back home. These are the populations most at risk for being taken advantage of and most in need of assistance. Many were victims of contractor fraud, theft by a family member or vandalism. Others battled health problems, were forced to use insurance money to pay off their mortgage or simply received insufficient funds to finish their homes.

That is why RTNO has been working tirelessly to obtain the funds from LHFA so that these homeowners and others like them, can finally return to their houses after almost five years of waiting. So despite the frustration with an incredibly lengthy process for obtaining LHFA funding, this money will enable RTNO to cover the cost of the construction so as to finally bring homeowners like Ms. Jones and Ms. Mistretta home.