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MISSISSIPPI: ERD and Hallelujah Housing celebrate couple's homecoming
[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) and Hallelujah Housing welcomed Larry and Bernice Johnson to their new home in Pass Christian, Mississippi.On Wednesday, August 29 at 10:30 a.m., exactly two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Coast, a group of local leaders, neighbors, advocates, faith-based groups and nonprofit organizations gathered at 319 Hiern Avenue for a house blessing ceremony lead by Bishop Duncan M. Gray of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi.
"This is an occasion to rejoice," said Gray. "We see in this home the first of hundreds of families who will be restored and who will become the cornerstone of a revitalized Gulf Coast. It is a tangible example of what must be done to heal our people and our region."
"Although today is a day of remembrance, it is also a day of joy in celebration of the future of the Mississippi Coast," said Robert W. Radtke, ERD president. "This home represents ERD's commitment to Hallelujah Housing's mission of giving people along the Mississippi Gulf a new start as they continue to rebuild their lives."
The Johnson's new home is the first Hallelujah House built through the Hallelujah Housing program, collaboration between ERD, the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, Delta/Hope Community Credit Union (HOPE), and Enterprise Corporation. An additional 400 homes are planned to be built by 2015 with 100 homes reserved for single mothers by 2009 in the costal Mississippi counties of Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson.
"We are excited about this opportunity to collaborate with a strong coalition of partners who are committed to rebuilding the Gulf Coast," said Bill Bynum, CEO of Delta/Hope Community Credit Union (HOPE), who is proud of this monumental achievement by Hallelujah Housing. "It is particularly noteworthy that our partners are targeting resources to residents with lower incomes. We simply must find the quickest, safest, and most affordable solutions we can to provide people with the opportunity to find a place they can call home."
"We cannot express how much this opportunity means to us," said Larry Johnson. "We would still be stuck in limbo if Hallelujah Housing had not decided to do something about creating real solutions for people."
"I'm looking forward to having our own space and something that feels permanent after two years of always feeling like things were hanging by a thread," said Bernice Johnson. "My only regret is that so many of our neighbors are still waiting for a miracle like ours."
Further information about Hallelujah Housing is available here. To make a contribution to Episcopal Relief and Development, visit http://www.er-d.org or call 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development, PO Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116-7058.