Salem man healing Lower Ninth Ward

David Eber gives a year to New Orleans

By DEBORAH MOON

article created on: 2009-02-15T00:00:00

While Mardi Gras parades and events at the Superdome are back on TV, most areas in New Orleans are still devastated more than three years after Hurricane Katrina hit the coast.

“New Orleans is by no means recovered,” said Salem native David Eber who is in the middle of a year volunteering in New Orleans with Avodah: The Jewish Service Corp.

“The greater population seems to think that things are better than they are … New Orleans and Lower Ninth Ward in particular need advocates.

“The more people decry the state of New Orleans and Gulf Coast recovery, the sooner the powers that be will get the message that America hasn’t given up on bringing New Orleans back for good.”

Eber, who graduated from the University of Oregon last year, said he was inspired to join Avodah by talk during the presidential primaries of the need for national service.

Having spent a year volunteering in Israel before college on Young Judaea’s Year Course, Eber was well aware of the rewards of volunteering. He said Avodah offered those benefits while allowing him to help a community in America.

And he said that New Orleans is a community sorely in need of help.

“New Orleans is a place where someone with relatively little experience can make a big tangible difference, and it is exciting to share this time with my fellow Corps members,” said Eber, who shares a home with eight other Jewish volunteers.

As the sustainability outreach program coordinator for the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, Eber said he sees how volunteers who come for just a few days are likewise able to have a huge impact.

He said residents of the ward sign up at the center, which then sends volunteers to help with projects ranging from clean up to drywall installation.

“Hillel, Jewish Funds for Justice, Temples…there are a surprising amount of Jewish groups” who come to volunteer, said Eber. “It’s something to be proud of.”

(Last month a group of nine Portland teenagers and two adults spent four days in the Lower Ninth Ward (see story beginning on page 1).

“Without volunteers, these residents of the Lower Ninth Ward wouldn’t be where they are today,” said Eber. “Volunteers have done more than the federal government to help bring things back.”

And Eber said the residents are extremely grateful to the volunteers and are not shy about expressing their gratitude. He said he thinks that helps the volunteers understand how much they have accomplished even if the tasks they perform seem small.

“People feel satisfied they are doing something; they recognize that lots of little things add up to big things,” said Eber.

For Eber, the long-term commitment (he’ll be there with Avodah till Aug. 9 and hopes to find a grant to allow him to continue his work after that) means seeing a lot of hope and frustration.

He said he is working on one economic development project to bring businesses back to the St. Claude, the main thoroughfare of the Ninth Ward. The first phase of the St. Claude Initiative is to have “local artists paint murals on abandoned buildings to show potential where before people only saw blight.”

While he has lined up artists and gotten agreement from building owners, the project is now on hold awaiting funding from the city.

Eber said government at all levels adds to the frustration of trying to rebuild the devastated areas. He said the city government’s first plan called for all of the Lower Ninth Ward to become green space. Since portions of the area have long been designated as historic districts, that plan was attacked both by residents and national historic preservation groups.

Their opposition cleared the way for creation of the CSED, where Eber works.

He said the center’s goal is to rebuild historic neighborhoods with sustainability in mind. Green building materials, community gardens, walkable neighborhoods and energy saving materials are all part of that plan.

“Our mission is to try to help people come back and educate them about resources and sustainability and that it’s not just for richer people,” said Eber. “We want to be sure that these things that are really about higher quality of lving and saving money get to the people who really need them.”

Before arriving in New Orleans, Eber said he was aware that “things aren’t great, but until you see it, you don’t understand how bad it is. This used to be a thriving community.”