Diedra M. Taylor

Diedra Taylor, a single mother of four, moved to the Lower 9th Ward in 2004. The first-time homeowner and her family had only lived in their newly constructed home for 14 months before it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, forcing her to evacuate to Weatherford, Texas.

Taylor did not take the catastrophe as a setback. Instead, she seized the opportunity to get her GED and a Certified Medication Aide certification (CMA). Human services program workers at a local church also assisted Taylor in finding housing, work and food.

While she found refuge in Texas, the new state still was not “home.” Taylor longed to return to her neighborhood and hopefully her old neighbors. “I had Ms. Stella on one side and Debra on the other side,” said Taylor. “Ms. Stella would call prayer groups in the neighborhood every week.”

Taylor admits she was concerned about what she would find when she came back. “To be honest with you, even though I had a desire to come back, when I saw the Lower 9th Ward, I didn’t feel comfortable with putting my kids back in that environment because of everything surrounding it…the contamination,” said Taylor. “I didn’t see any future in it; there was no hope for my kids.”

Once Taylor heard about the Make It Right program, its green building technology and homeowner education courses, her desire to return grew greater. “When I looked on the website and saw the different things being offered, I saw the future,” said Taylor.

All Make It Right program participants attend homebuyer education, financial fitness and sustainable homeownership courses to fulfill requirements for the counseling component of the program. Taylor, like others, is grateful for the opportunity to get back on track financially with the help of some of these courses.
 
“When I hear Make It Right’s name, the first thing I think of is hope,” said Taylor. “Make It Right not only helped me get a house, I have financial independence. I want to put my five-year-old in karate school and my daughter in dance school. I have the ability to afford it now, because someone took the time to help me.
Taylor selected a four bedroom Eskew, Dumez, Ripple home designed by New Orleans architects. She is set to move into her new home in July.

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