Camp Hope is a volunteer base camp located in a former school in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Camp Hope has welcomed people from all over the United States and all over the world who have come to participate in the massive recovery efforts of
St. Bernard Parish
St. Bernard Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Bernard; es, Parroquia de San Bernardo) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of t ...
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten ...
and the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered ...
.
Camp Hope provides affordable housing and meals for groups and individuals who have come to serve St Bernard parish and the city of New Orleans. Breakfast and dinner are served throughout the work week, as well as the option to make sack lunches to take on volunteer work sites. The facilities include a large dining area, bathrooms, showers, laundry facilities, meeting rooms, and bunk rooms with enough space to sleep over 300 individuals.
Formation
Camp Hope opened on June 1, 2006, in the former "W. Smith Junior Elementary School" in
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,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
due to the closure of Camp Premiere, a FEMA-sponsored base camp established to provide basic life support for emergency response activities. Col. David Dysart (USMCR), the Director of The St. Bernard Parish Office of Recovery, formed alliances with multiple Non-Profit Organizations, volunteer groups and the St. Bernard School Board to relocate the camp and ensure the continued support necessary for the critical volunteer efforts to continue. The opening was facilitated by several
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps (officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work pro ...
National Civilian Community Corps
National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), or AmeriCorps NCCC is an AmeriCorps program that engages 18- to 24-year-olds in team-based national and community service in the United States. Under the CARES act, however, the maximum age of entry is 26. ...
teams and overseen by St. Bernard Parish employee Tom Pfalzer.
The mission of Camp Hope then, in addition to providing low-cost volunteer housing, was to facilitate volunteer relief efforts in St. Bernard Parish and in the
New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity
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affiliate of
Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a ...
. August 15, 2007, Camp Hope moved to the former "Beauregard Middle School" which was named after P.G.T. Beauregard, a notable Civil War General who fought for the Confederacy, in the township of St. Bernard, LA. Most volunteers who stay at Camp Hope volunteer with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity or with the St. Bernard Project (located in Chalmette, LA) though any volunteer is welcome.
In January 2010, Camp Hope reopened under St. Bernard Parish management at a new location in Arabi LA, inside the building of former St. Louise de Marillac. In the spring of 2011, as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill the former Camp Hope was re-purposed to house clean-up workers.
In 2012, St. Bernard Parish Government decided to pull out of the management of Camp Hope. In February 2012, a local non-profit called The Gathering took over the management of Camp Hope. They continue to run it to this day.
Versions
Camp Hope 2 in Beauregard Middle School closed in May 2009. Camp Hope to close after providing a temporary home to thousands who helped Camp Hope 3 is run jointly by volunteers and the St. Bernard Parish government. New Orleans Metro, May 28, 2009
Camp Hope 3, which opened on January 1, 2010, was located in the building of a former Catholic school located in
Arabi, Louisiana
Arabi () is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, between the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans and Chalmette within the Greater New Orleans metropoli ...
.Greetings Volunteers! Camp Hope 3
Camp Hope 3 was closed in June 2010 and the space was turned over to house BP employees who worked to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has spent $600,000 on renovations to house 300 oil spill personnel in 2010.In a Refuge Haunted by Katrina, BP Swirls In New York Times - July 2, 2010
Camp Hope 3 opened again in March 2011 in what was previously a school and is located in
Arabi, Louisiana
Arabi () is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, between the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans and Chalmette within the Greater New Orleans metropoli ...
Camp Hope NOLA /ref>
In February 2012, Camp Hope 3 was taken under new management by The Gathering, a non-profit in Arabi, Louisiana.
See also
*
Emergency Communities
Emergency Communities was a volunteer organization which formed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It provided meals and other relief to residents and emergency responders, first in Mississippi, then in Louisiana. Emergency Communities ran sites in ...