A little taste of New Orleans in Union Square

by: Laura Wintroub

Tue Mar 29, 2011 at 17:24:59 PM EDT

In honor of the DVD and Blu-ray release of Season 1, 'Treme' cast members Melissa Leo, Wendell Pierce and Lucia Micarelli will be funking it up in Union Square, New York.  Pierce, who plays trombonist Antoine Batiste on the show, will pick up his horn and join the Treme Brass Band for a performance; a food truck will hand out treats from New Orleans.

Affordable housing development continues in New Orleans

by: Laura Wintroub

Wed Mar 16, 2011 at 10:46:22 AM EDT

The excitement continues to grow.  Several 100-year-old homes were moved recently from the demolition footprint of the Tulane/Gravier medical complex and placed on vacant property right next to the former Lafitte.

Affordable Housing Development Moves Forward in New Orleans

by: Laura Wintroub

Fri Feb 11, 2011 at 13:35:51 PM EST

Last week, the Isaiah Fund Board of Managers held its annual in-person meeting in New Orleans.  In addition to meeting with local leaders to discuss infrastructure developments and plans in the city, the Board also toured Treme, one of the New Orleans neighborhoods where the Isaiah Fund is focusing its initial community investments (and the same neighborhood as the HBO series' namesake).

Providence Community Housing, a nonprofit real estate developer in which the Isaiah Fund has invested $400,000, is undertaking major affordable housing development efforts in Treme.  Most significantly, they are developing new and rehabbed affordable housing on and around the site of the former Lafitte public housing project.

Providence is using the Isaiah Fund's loan to transport 31 historic homes from other parts of the city to Treme, where they will be renovated and sold to former Lafitte families at subsidized prices of approximately $75,000.  The new homes are designed to resemble the historic homes.  They are also directly across the street from each other.

Check out photos of the new and renovated homes on the Isaiah Fund's website and on JFSJ's Facebook page.

In all, it was exciting to see the progress happening on the ground and hear about the extensive community coordination and planning that is helping shape it.

Outcomes Illustrated

by: Laura Wintroub

Wed Nov 17, 2010 at 15:22:04 PM EST

There's often talk in the community development world about outcomes.  We talk about jobs created, housing units developed, parks built, childcare centers created, and on and on.  But for all the talk, a picture usually tells a much better story than data or words ever can.

And so it is with the most recent photos of the Muses, an affordable housing development project in Central City in New Orleans that non profit housing developer Gulf Coast Housing Partnership is undertaking.  The Isaiah Fund made its first loan of $500,000 to GCHP in June 2009 for several projects, including the Muses.

The photo above was taken just a few weeks ago.  In June 2009, the land where the buildings now stand was vacant and desolate.

The first of two construction phases is complete.  Families have begun moving in.  There is a waiting list for apartment leases.  It's one of the best illustrations of outcomes I've seen.

A Day of Service at the GA

by: Debbie Appel

Fri Nov 12, 2010 at 11:46:33 AM EST

By Miriam Liebman, JFSJ Service Learning Program Leader

Just over a year ago, I fell in love with New Orleans because, despite all of its tragedies, New Orleans has joy and pride like no other city I’ve been to. Last weekend, November 5-9, the General Assembly (GA), a conference of thousands of North American Jews, gathered in New Orleans. The Jewish Roundtable, in which Jewish Funds For Justice is a key player, helped organize the GA’s Day of Service. After spending a number of hours clearing yards in the Lower 9th Ward, I was charged with the responsibility of leading a bus consisting of mostly Hillel students on a service learning experience.

Back on the bus, the first text we read was one each of us has heard hundreds of times: the story of the burning bush. It is not until Moses is faced with this miraculous scene and told by an angel to look at the bush that he realizes God’s presence. I once heard a story of a philosopher in Germany after the Holocaust who rode a train and watched fellow passengers. Everyone was looking forward, no one was looking out the windows. Whether the lesson of the burning bush is truly to teach us of God’s presence, we will of course never know. But like both God’s presence and the passengers on the German train, we shield ourselves from inequities in our own neighborhoods. It takes more strength to look out the window and act than it does to stare straight ahead.

While clearing lots, I had a conversation with a young rabbinical student from Yeshiva University. Why, he inquired, was it necessary to bring 600 Jews to clear lots with the local organization, Beacon of Hope, when the Jewish community could have simply donated money to the organization to purchase equipment that would have completed twice what we did in half the time. I hold no ultimate answers, but I strongly believe that it is equally as important for people to look out the window and understand inequalities that exist in our country as it is to put in both the time and money to repair them.

The GA’s day of service touched only the surface of inequalities in New Orleans pre- and post-dating Katrina. After serving for a few hours, students were tired and satisfied with the afternoon commitment they had put in. The main focus of participants was not on studying and discussing the text and the service work, but rather on making their way to the hotel for whatever lay ahead of them that evening. Yet, while I continue to struggle with much of what the Jewish community rallies around, I am both proud and inspired by the accomplishments of the Roundtable and enthused by the incredible commitment of the greater Jewish community to serve New Orleans, a city I care deeply about.

Seeing our priorities at the GA

by: Mae Singerman

Tue Nov 09, 2010 at 18:03:08 PM EST

I just attended the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly (GA) in New Orleans. I'm 26 years old and if you would have told me five years ago that I would have been deeply invested in planning activities for a conference at the heart of the Jewish establishment where most people are wearing suits all day everyday, I never would have believed you.

But, a couple of years ago, I got connected to  people who do social justice work through a Jewish lens and for the first time in over a decade, I felt connected to my Jewish identity. 

So there I was, two days ago, at the GA- stuffing packets at midnight for the Day of Service, attending receptions and learning all sorts of acronyms (ILOJ, anybody?).

New Orleans community rebuilding efforts on display at the GA

by: Laura Wintroub

Mon Nov 08, 2010 at 18:04:14 PM EST

As hundreds of GA participants headed out today to spend the afternoon volunteering at service sites across New Orleans as part of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable's "Praying With Our Legs" service initiative, I had the opportunity to spend some time at a wonderful place run by wonderful people -- the Clifford N. Rosenthal Community Center in the Bywater neighborhood, operated by ASI Federal Credit Union's nonprofit affiliate, A Shared Initiative.  In addition to service projects, more than 80 GA participants toured sites across New Olreans this afternoon, including the Community Center, to learn about community based efforts to rebuild local neighborhoods.

JFSJ and ASI have partnered on a number of initiatives since Hurricane Katrina struck more than five years ago.  The Community Center - which is named for the fearless leader of community development credit unions, Cliff Rosenthal, President of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions - runs several community education initiatives, including homeownership education and foreclosure prevention counseling, back to school drives, and financial literacy workshops, and also provides space for local nonprofit organizations.

JFSJ funded ASI's work to purchase, gut, and renovate the community center after Katrina with grant funding from several Jewish Federations, including UJA-Federation of New York and Jewish Federations of North America.  JFSJ later partnered with ASI to pilot the 8th Degree microlending initiative for low-income entrepreneurs in New Orleans.  ASI has made 13 $15,000 microloans through the initiative, which was made possible by support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

It felt wonderful to introduce folks from all over the country to the work that Federation support made possible.  In the wake of terrible tragedy and disaster five years ago, resilient communities have made significant progress in the long and hard work of rebuilding.

Photos from the Community Center to come soon!

Post Election Boredom? Vote the Pepsi Refresh Competition

by: Jeremy Burton

Thu Nov 04, 2010 at 19:36:54 PM EDT

for our friends at the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.  They are in the running for $250K and you can help them out by voting here. 

I had the pleasure of working on a service site with them just this past June, painting a building in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward being rehabbed as a community garden education center. They are also in the running for $25k on a Facebook competeition here.

Help em out! Thanks.

Neighborhood Housing Services at work in New Orleans

by: Laura Wintroub

Fri Oct 15, 2010 at 15:48:26 PM EDT

Grassroots energy in New Orleans

by: Laura Wintroub

Wed Sep 29, 2010 at 15:53:43 PM EDT