St. Bernard Project reaches 20-year milestone of helping families rebuild after disaster
HURRICANE KATRINA, ONE LOCAL NONPROFIT IS REACHING ITS TWO DECADE ANNIVERSARY AS WELL. WDSU REPORTER ELIZABETH KUEBEL SPOTLIGHTS AN ORGANIZATION THAT WAS FORMED BECAUSE OF THE STORM, NOW WORKING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE NOT ONLY HERE AT HOME, BUT NATIONWIDE. SO OVER HERE WE HAVE ALL OF OUR MUDDING TOOLS. THESE SHELVES ARE STACKED WITH SUPPLIES ON THIS SIDE HERE. IT’S REALLY ALL OF OUR LIKE, DEMO FRAMING AND EARLY CONSTRUCTION WORK. INSIDE THE MID-CITY WAREHOUSE OF SBP, A DISASTER RECOVERY NONPROFIT CORE TO OUR PROGRAM WORK IS THE REBUILDING OF HOMES FOR HOMEOWNERS THAT WERE AFFECTED BY A NATURAL DISASTER A FLOOD, A HURRICANE, A WIND EVENT. IT IS WORK THEY HAVE BEEN DOING NOW FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES. BORN IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE KATRINA, WHEN THE CO-FOUNDERS FROM THE D.C. AREA CAME DOWN TO VOLUNTEER AND FELT COMPELLED TO HELP. WHEN WE FORMED, WE WERE IN SAINT BERNARD PARISH, A PARISH THAT HAD 100% DEVASTATION FOLLOWING KATRINA. THAT IS WHY IT WAS ORIGINALLY CALLED THE SAINT BERNARD PROJECT. THE NONPROFIT NOW USES THE ABBREVIATED VERSION SBP AS THEIR WORK TO HELP SURVIVORS. HAS SINCE SPILLED OUTSIDE OF PARISH LINES, EVEN OUT OF STATE. REALLY, HOLDING TRUE TO THIS BELIEF THAT COMMUNITY IS NOT DEFINED BY PROXIMITY AND COMMITTING OURSELVES TO COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT ARE FACING A SIMILAR LEVEL OF DEVASTATION AS NEW ORLEANS AND THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA DID FOLLOWING KATRINA. SBP HAS NOW REBUILT MORE THAN 730 HOMES IN NEW ORLEANS, AND THEY’RE CLOSING IN ON 7000 NATIONWIDE FROM NEW YORK CITY TO TEXAS AND FLORIDA. BECAUSE THE PASSION AND PERSISTENCE IS PERSONAL, BECAUSE WE HAVE LIVED THIS, BECAUSE WE HAVE DONE THIS, AND BECAUSE WE CONTINUE TO SEE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE THREATENED BY AND IMPACTED BY NATURAL DISASTERS. WE FEEL A GREAT SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY TO BRING FORWARD WHAT WE KNOW TO HELP REDUCE THAT TIME BETWEEN DISASTER AND RECOVERY. REPORTING IN MID-CITY ELIZABETH KUEBEL. GOT IT. WDSU NEWS. AND ALL OF THIS IS MADE POSSIBLE, SAINT BERNARD PROJECT SAYS WITH THE HELP OF THEIR MORE THAN 150,000 VOLUNTEERS, AND WE ARE TAKING THE TIME ALL MONTH LONG THIS AUGUST TO TALK ABOUT THE PAST, THE PRESENT, THE FUTURE OF LOUISIANA. ALL AHEAD OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF HURRICANE KATRINA. TO WATCH EACH STORY THAT HAS AIRED SO FAR, YOU CAN VISIT OUR WEBSIT
Updated: 6:26 PM CDT Aug 11, 2025
St. Bernard Project reaches 20-year milestone of helping families rebuild after disaster
Updated: 6:26 PM CDT Aug 11, 2025
A nonprofit born out of Hurricane Katrina is preparing to reach a milestone of its own. SBP, also known as the St. Bernard Project, is a disaster recovery nonprofit marking its two-decade milestone of working to make a difference both locally and nationwide. Inside SBP’s Mid-City warehouse, shelves are stacked with mudding tools, demolition, framing and early construction supplies.”Core to our program work is the rebuilding of homes for homeowners affected by a natural disaster: a flood, a hurricane, a wind event,” said Thomas Corley, SBP’s chief operating officer. The nonprofit was originally called the St. Bernard Project, named after the parish that suffered extensively after Hurricane Katrina. “When we formed, we were in St. Bernard Parish, a parish that had 100% devastation following Katrina,” Corley said.SBP’s efforts have expanded beyond parish lines and state borders, driven by the belief that community is not defined by proximity. SBP has rebuilt more than 730 homes in New Orleans and is nearing 7,000 nationwide, with projects spanning from New York City to Texas and Florida. “Because we have lived this and done this, because we continue to see communities threatened by natural disasters, we feel a great sense of responsibility to reduce that time between disaster and recovery,” Corley said.All of this is made possible, SBP says, with the help of more than 150,000 volunteers.
A nonprofit born out of Hurricane Katrina is preparing to reach a milestone of its own.
SBP, also known as the St. Bernard Project, is a disaster recovery nonprofit marking its two-decade milestone of working to make a difference both locally and nationwide.
Inside SBP’s Mid-City warehouse, shelves are stacked with mudding tools, demolition, framing and early construction supplies.
“Core to our program work is the rebuilding of homes for homeowners affected by a natural disaster: a flood, a hurricane, a wind event,” said Thomas Corley, SBP’s chief operating officer.
The nonprofit was originally called the St. Bernard Project, named after the parish that suffered extensively after Hurricane Katrina.
“When we formed, we were in St. Bernard Parish, a parish that had 100% devastation following Katrina,” Corley said.
SBP’s efforts have expanded beyond parish lines and state borders, driven by the belief that community is not defined by proximity.
SBP has rebuilt more than 730 homes in New Orleans and is nearing 7,000 nationwide, with projects spanning from New York City to Texas and Florida.
“Because we have lived this and done this, because we continue to see communities threatened by natural disasters, we feel a great sense of responsibility to reduce that time between disaster and recovery,” Corley said.
All of this is made possible, SBP says, with the help of more than 150,000 volunteers.