It’s called the Rebuild Center, a structure in the shadow of St Joseph Church, a parish which has been in the care of the Congregation of the Mission since 1858. Attendees of the US Vincentian Family Gathering in New Orleans had an opportunity to visit the Center on April 11.

In this neighborhood with so many buildings looming, why is there a need to rebuild? Those buildings are vacant now, health care facilities first rendered ineffectual and then dangerous and now vacant in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Why the need to rebuild? Because Katrina took with it the services to people without homes. Those services had to be rebuilt. The map below, which hangs in a corridor, shows the center’s location in the city: in the heart of the city.

One of the things most needed by people without a house of their own is a place to clean up: wash up, brush teeth, shave. The Rebuild Center has a long row of basins and mirrors, and there are showers, too. Toiletries, toothbrushes, and razors are available. Another thing needed: an address. Not having one is a tremendous liability when job hunting. Not having an address is an extra tax on not having a place to call home. The Rebuild Center has a mail distribution center.

Some medications are available; so is the alternative therapy of Reiki. So are numerous services: legal help and much more. There is a little space in which plants now thrive, a spot of green in an area where no gardens, no trees survived the storm. A muralist traveled to New Orleans to paint a long, expressive mural: another spot of beauty.

And every day volunteers serve up a mid-day meal. The photo at the bottom was taken just before lunch on April 11. In the background, the Center’s director, Sr. Vera Butler, PBVM, talks to visitors.

Look at the Rebuild Center’s Web Page at the St Joseph Catholic Church site.