The rebuilding efforts of many Gulf Coast non-profits have been proceeding slowly lately as some funding sources have dwindled and others, such as funding from the Mississippi Development Authority, have been slow to materialize. Yet progress is still being made. One of my houses, in Long Beach, is being funded by its owner and is moving forward thanks to the efforts of International Relief and Development and Training U, a construction training program.

The house is for a lady named Lorena and features two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The compact design also includes a screened porch (see below). The plan for a concrete foundation was ditched when the soil was found to be too soupy to even dig holes, much less pour concrete. Instead, we switched to driven wood piles, which found load-bearing sand about 8-12 feet deep. This change got the project moving forward, and Training U has since been working on framing the floor and is now raising walls. Mike & Mike, the Training U instructors, bring to the project a great deal of construction experience and the patience necessary to build a house while teaching a large and inexperienced group. Thanks to them, Lorena will soon have a house and Long Beach will be one step closer to recovery.