LAFAYETTE PARISH — In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Habitat for Humanity affiliates built hundreds of houses — to meet the urgent need for safe housing. For the Lafayette affiliate, the work was no different.
“A lot of times people when they are first displaced by a storm are just in chaos. And you know the first order of business is to get them situated,” said Melinda Taylor, executive director of Lafayette Habitat for Humanity.
The scope of the disaster was so immense that in 2008, Habitat International dedicated its Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project to the Gulf Coast. That initiative included homes in Kaplan, where Taylor and her team were directly involved.
Taylor recalled what it was like to lead the small Lafayette affiliate at the time. “I’d been here for several years and we were a small affiliate. I was the first full-time executive director here — and really the only full-time employee for the first couple of years. And in 2005, we were a small organization,” she said.
That small start soon grew into something stronger, fueled by the demand to rebuild. “Really the Katrina Rita experience propelled us into being able to build at a higher capacity,” Taylor said.
She emphasized that the mission went beyond construction. “It’s not just about parachuting in and building some houses, but really engaging,” she explained. That engagement, she added, created long-term impact. “Some of the folks who have come here at that time have now paid their houses off. You know, we’re beginning to see people paying off their mortgages and owning their homes.”
Even with those challenges, she believes the lessons from Katrina continue to shape Habitat’s work today. “When next time happen and it’s here, what are we gonna do to be ready for that,” Taylor said.
