Within the last month, Brad Pitt’s “Make It Right” project has raised enough money to build 65 homes in the hurricane-ravaged Lower 9th Ward.

The program on Monday announced it is nearing the halfway point in reaching its initial goal of raising sufficient funds for 150 affordable, environmentally friendly homes. The average construction cost is estimated at $150,000 per house. Hot pink tents have been erected to represent the homes.

Building is expected to begin this spring, with the goal of having some families back by the end of summer, a Make It Right spokeswoman, Virginia Miller, said.

The Lower 9th Ward has become a symbol of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and the subsequent levee breaches. Just a fraction of the pre-storm population is estimated to be back.

“2008 is going to be crucial to demonstrate the resurgence of the community,” said Patricia Jones of the Lower 9th Ward Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association.

Work at the Make It Right project site will be part of that, she said, but the Lower 9 extends much farther, and activists hope to see more homeowners begin to rebuild as they receive funds through the state-run Road Home program.

Jones, whose rebuilding in the area herself, hopes to have at least one-third of the pre-storm households back by this time next year.

Miller said most of the donors through Make It Right’s Web site have been “average Americans who want to help.” In one week alone, after the project’s official launch Dec. 3, nearly $500,000 was raised just through the site, Miller said.

Miller said there also have been corporate and “high-profile” donors, including musician Jimmy Buffett.

Tom Darden, the group’s executive director, said there’s no timetable for raising the funds needed for the 150 homes. He added he’s not worried about raising it.

“It’s one thing to talk about this in theory, and it’s quite another when the first houses go up,” he said. “I think that will inspire a lot of people who want to see real families move into real houses.”

Source: Nola

One Response to “Pitt’s ‘Make It Right’ says enough raised for first 65 houses in Lower 9th”

»Andrea cronin

April 9th, 2008 at 12:23 am

My family had planned a vacation to Disney orlando, and it did not work out, instead we decided to drive to New orleans for the spring break, now at first I was not happy, but after I realize that going to new Orleans was the wright thing to do for obious reasons. I think we as a family will feel better about the decision

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