lowernine.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the long-term recovery of New Orleans’ historic Lower Ninth Ward following Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaches of 2005. We are actively engaged in the long-term recovery of the hardest-hit, slowest-recovering community in the Gulf Coast region. We use volunteer labor under skilled supervision to rebuild and repair the homes of pre-Katrina residents of the neighborhood.

The 2005 population of the Lower Ninth Ward (prior to the levee breaches) was 98.1% African-American, and over 60% lived below the area mean income. Despite this, we enjoyed one of the highest rates of Black homeownership in the nation, because our residents were the descendents of some of New Orleans’ first free people of color. Many owned their homes outright, as they had been passed down from generation to generation.

Volunteers and skilled staff rebuild flood-damaged properties, bringing the cost of construction down to approximately 30% of open market rate. Since 2007, lowernine.org has completed 89 full rebuilds and more than 300 housing repairs, such as siding and roof replacements. These efforts have brought more pre-Katrina families back to this community than any other organization.