Local group heads to New Orleans for neighborhood restoration learning

A local delegation is spending this week in Louisiana to learn about restoring neighborhoods.

“Getting some perspective on people who have been doing it a lot longer than we have will probably be helpful,” said Becky Wood of Cedar Rapids, director of recovery for the United Methodist Church.

Wood leaves Tuesday for New Orleans, where she'll join four others who left Sunday. The group, all affiliated with the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church's Block by Block rebuilding program, will spend the week meeting with officials from Beacon of Hope, an organization that's been doing similar work along the Gulf Coast repairing damage from Hurricane Katrina.'

“I want to talk to someone who's had experience rebuilding neighborhoods in disaster areas,” said Wood. “We pretty much have the volunteer thing down as far as coordination and housing, but how do we sustain it?”

Wood also hopes to learn about finding new residents for rebuilt homes, Block by Block has purchased two homes to be rehabilitated and sold to residents who lost their own homes to the flood, and Wood plans to buy another 19 houses.

“You have to find the homeowner, which sometimes isn't easy, then you have to find out if they want to wait for a buyout or not,” said Wood. “Then they have to find the title and get all the legal work taken care of.”

Launched three months ago, Block by Block celebrated the completion of recovery work on the first of eight city blocks its volunteers intend to restore. The United Methodist Church's Iowa Conference is among the program's major sponsors.

Wood's trip is being paid for by the United Methodist Church. Block by Block is covering the other four workers' expenses. she said.