Rebuilding Homes

Jose Castillo

As part of our Junior/Senior project, our task is to do research affiliated with our projects that interests us. My research topic was on hurricanes. I was inspired after Hurricane Harvey because I saw all the damage that it brought to Houston, and I wanted to help those in need. From my research, I hoped to understand how one recovers from a hurricane and the obstacles that thwart that process. I learned that morale is the biggest obstacle after a hurricane. Alcohol, loss of belongings, and the relocation of families all affect morale in a negative way. That is why, though most people still have a secure job, people affected by hurricanes tend to be more depressed afterwards.

My goal for my project was to help people affected by hurricanes rebuild their homes. My original idea was to participate with an organization that focused on Hurricane Relief. However as the date came closer, I decided against this idea. I still wanted to help a community in need, but I wanted to help people I know to make the experience more rewarding. Rather than volunteering with an organization, I decided to help fix damages done to one of my friend's home by Hurricane Harvey. I also decided to increase the number of volunteers in order to be able to rotate people on different days. This way no one had to give up their whole Spring Break, and it would allow me to expand the number of people that contributed to this rewarding experience.

BACK

When brainstorming ideas for how I wanted to improve my community, I never expected to focus my project around Hurricane Relief. Growing up, I was pretty oblivious to the disastrous effects of hurricanes because I had never seen first-hand the damages done. However, two years ago I accidentally volunteered to give up my Spring Break to fix homes in Baton Rogue affected by Hurricane Katrina. It was then that I first realized the impacts of hurricanes. The trip turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. When Hurricane Harvey struck, I found myself doing similar jobs to repair damages done to our school. It was then that I realized that my project could be centered around inspiring others to commit to a life of volunteering while aiding my community at the same time.