On Tuesday, Yolanda Braziel didn’t have a roof over her head, literally.
Her four-bedroom home she is helping to build in Shreveport’s Allendale neighborhood is taking form quickly and already has walls, a roof and a concrete floor.
The house is one of two being built by The Fuller Center for Housing of Northwest Louisiana and dozens of student volunteers as part of the nonprofit’s fifth anniversary celebration. Since Hurricane Katrina, the organization has built 40 homes in Allendale, but that count will soon be 42. The homes should be finished by May, and there will be a dedication March 20 at the site on Alston Street.
“This is just the beginning,” said Executive Director Lee Jeter Sr. “We’re starting in Allendale, but we’re going to duplicate what we’re doing in Allendale across northwest Louisiana, across Shreveport, Bossier, Cedar Grove, Queensborough and Mooretown.”
About the homeowners
Name: Yolanda Braziel
Age: 40
Occupation: Cook/manager
Motto: “Tragedies are a common fate. Through it all God never saw fit to let none of these things be for me.”
In her words: As a single parent of seven, I never thought that I would be able to begin to own a used home, let alone a new home.
My life changed about two years ago when my job caught on fire, and they laid all of us off. The house that I was living in I could no longer afford, and I had to move into my grandmother’s house, which was vacant for about two years. We tried to fix it up the best we could, but with the income I had I wasn’t able to patch the holes in the walls, the plumbing was raggedy, just really a mess.
Somebody went to the community police and told them about me and my family. They made the house livable, but it is still bad off. The Fuller Center was a part of it, too.
They patched up the problem, but Mr. Jeter said he wouldn’t be satisfied until I got something decent.
This has renewed my faith and my confidence and has helped me to have a new independence.
I appreciate the smallest things: not even having a sink and now being able to wash my hands and have a clean sink. We didn’t have air, and now I’m going to turn the air on full blast. The main thing I’m looking forward to is a living room.
I’ve been talking to the volunteers, and it means a lot for someone to give like that to someone they don’t know.
Name: Delisa Robinson
Age: 30
Profession: Housekeeper
Motto: Psalm 23
In her words: I was heading to Memphis on a cruise ship from New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. My parents got caught in the storm, and they were stuck in the house for three days. They lost everything.
They were on a bus for 12 hours heading to Shreveport, and I joined them when they got settled in an apartment.
I started working with the Fuller Center to get a house in 2006, but I stopped putting forth the effort when they said I needed more hours at work and my pay wasn’t enough. I moved into my own apartment to build credit because if I could pay for somebody’s property, I could pay for my own. In 2009, Mr. Jeter sat me down, and I really listened to him this time.
I paid all my credit off and took my income tax check and gave him a down payment. And it has helped me to look into buying more houses.
I love paying bills. My mom says I’m crazy, but it just releases my spirits and makes me free. And God has blessed me every day. I thank God for my momma and daddy because they encouraged me to buy a home. I’ve never had this feeling, but I’m going to take it and run with it.
I love the volunteers, and I thank God for them because without them how would we get it off the ground?
