Since 1983, Samaritan's Purse has mobilized thousands of volunteers to work with our Disaster Relief Teams to provide emergency aid to disaster victims in the United States.

To volunteer with U.S. Disaster Relief, click here.

The Franklin Avenue neighborhood in New Orleans’ Eighth Ward could be a community in any city, in any state across the country.

On a typical morning, residents emerge from their homes, climb into their cars, and drive to work. In the evenings, they exchange friendly greetings and waves. They mow their yards and have backyard barbecues. On Sundays, they go to church.

It’s hard to believe that five years ago the neighborhood was in ruins in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Homes were flooded and streets were under water. Families had evacuated, not knowing if they would ever return.

Sunday marks the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the massive storm that became one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history. It also marks five years of Samaritan’s Purse providing help and comfort to storm victims.

Samaritan’s Purse crews are still working in New Orleans five years after the storm made landfall in the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, building new houses and refurbishing existing homes for people who lost everything in the storm. Although there is still a lot of damage and many vacant homes remain in the area, things clearly are getting better.

The anniversary will be marked with a special celebration at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, our ministry partner in New Orleans. Samaritan’s Purse will present a “Good Samaritan” award to church leaders in thanks of their willingness to house our crews and equipment since this aspect of the project began in 2008.

Katrina was a Category 1 hurricane when it first made landfall in Florida on Aug. 25. It caused substantial damage and flooding, but was not considered a major storm. But then, as it entered the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it grew into a monster.

The hurricane quickly gained strength, packing winds estimated at 175 mph. It diminished somewhat, but still was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum winds estimated near 125 mph when it made landfall in Louisiana at 7:10 a.m. on Aug. 29.

With its high winds, broad bands, torrential rains, and deadly storm surge, it caused widespread devastation along the Gulf Coast. Nearly 2,000 people were killed and more than 250,000 displaced along a path that stretched from Louisiana to Florida.

The most severe losses occurred in New Orleans, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed. Eventually 80 percent of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.

The worst property damage occurred in coastal areas. Waters reached up to 12 miles from the beach, causing widespread flooding and devastation. Boats and casino barges rammed buildings, pushing cars and houses inland.

The cost in dollars would exceed $125 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making it the costliest natural disaster in American history.

It also became the largest response in the history of the Samaritan’s Purse North American Disaster Relief program. In the five years since Katrina made landfall, more than 15,000 volunteers from 49 states and Canada have rebuilt or worked on close to 8,000 houses for storm victims.

We established our first base camp in Mobile, Alabama, on Aug. 31, and eventually had seven sites running in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Our staff and crews set to work mudding out homes, cleaning up debris, repairing residences, and building new homes.

“We were on our last leg before they showed up,” said Pastor Tony Karnes of Michael Memorial Baptist Church in Gulfport, Mississippi. “I was out of gas. We didn’t know how it was going to work out. We worked all day, 15 hours a day. We weren’t making any progress. Since they hit the ground it has been fantastic.”

Among the thousands of families helped were Willie Harmon, a World War II veteran confined to a wheelchair, and his wife, Betty.

“Your organization is just something,” Betty said. “It’s very touching. It lifts a lot of burdens. I was down to the point where I couldn’t be any lower than I was. It increases your faith.”

Our 2 ½ years of working in the Gulf Coast communities also included rebuilding 948 houses in Kiln and Biloxi, Mississippi, and New Orleans, providing over 350 mobile homes, and building nine houses from the ground up in the area around Kiln.

Jack and Jessica Hopkins were among the home recipients. They lost their mobile home and their jobs because of the storm. They were faced with mounting medical bills because their daughter was battling cancer, and couldn’t afford to rebuild.

“I feel like Job,” Jessica said when the new home was completed. “I lost everything, and it was all given back to me tenfold. I believe with all my heart that it was because it strengthened my faith in God.”

Samaritan’s Purse didn’t just respond to physical needs. As our staff and volunteers witnessed in word and need, dozens of people came to faith in Jesus Christ.

They included Brett, a young man who was led to Christ by a volunteer named Hoyle.

“What we do, shoveling mud out, is symbolic of Jesus getting down and washing the disciples’ feet,” Hoyle said. “I said, ‘I’m not doing it for you, I’m doing it for Jesus Christ.’ We are God’s people. I told Brett, ‘I hope that when you look at us you see Jesus.’”

In 2008, Samaritan’s Purse launched the Neighborhood Rebuild Project in New Orleans. Twenty-two homes are complete, and another five will be finished by the time the program ends next month.

“Because of those hands of love, seeds of love have been planted into our homes, so that our homes can now truly be homes of love,” said Joan Bundy, whose house was one of the first to be finished.

The few residents that had returned were suspicious when staff first entered the neighborhood. Many had lost what little they had to phony contractors who made promises but then took their money and vanished.

But attitudes changed as Samaritan’s Purse staff and volunteers began to work in the Name of Jesus Christ.

“In three months, they did more work than all three contractors we had,” homeowner Arnold Montana said. “Everything the contractors did was wrong. Samaritan’s Purse came in and they changed it all around and made everything right. My face used to have a frown on it; they turned that frown upside down. Now I’m smiling, and I’m so glad to be smiling.”

Samaritan’s Purse staff and volunteers have spent a lot of time in the community near Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, helping to unite a neighborhood that was torn apart by the hurricane. Families are interacting and rejoicing with each other, attending the dedications as each house is completed.

“Seeing the Samaritan’s Purse trucks, equipment, and volunteers has really given the people of this neighborhood a sense of hope,” said Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist. “There are people who have not forgotten about us.”