Common Ground Relief

Thank you for your interest in Common Ground Relief! We have shifted our focus from disaster relief to rebuilding homes in an equitable and environmentally sustainable way.

We have strengthened programs that confront socio-economic inequality and environmental degradation through our free legal clinic, job training program, wetlands restoration, education and community gardens outreach.

We continue to participate in programs that address unemployment, drug addiction, hunger, food insecurity, homelessness, and police corruption.

For more information about what volunteering is like, visit our Volunteer Information page.

Common Ground Relief has consolidated its facilities in the Lower 9th ward. Common Ground's Legal, Media and Community projects are now housed at the Anita Roddick Advocacy Center. Volunteer housing is provided in the Lower 9th.

We are looking for skilled volunteers, both short and long term, with expertise in our project areas, including construction, dry wall hanging, carpentry, painting, roofing, plumbing, electric work, legal aid, environmental science, media/PR, computer technology and education. Volunteers must be willing to multi-task.

Please fill out a volunteer application and email it to the volunteer coordinator.

Allow one to two weeks for a response to your application.

DOWNLOAD THE VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK HERE!

Long-term volunteers will be living in close quarters (dorm style) in the Lower 9th ward. To ensure that these work communities run effectively, we require prospective long-term volunteers to participate in our application process. Please download an application (doc or pdf).

Please remember that we do not allow dogs at our volunteer housing site. If you are traveling with a pet, you will have to find alternative housing arrangements for it while you are working with us.

Please get a tetanus shot before you come down to New Orleans. While there is a free clinic here that you can go to, this is a community clinic. Using the scarce resources that the clinic has means that there is less for the impoverished area that they serve.

For further questions contact the volunteer coordinator at commongroundvolunteers(at)gmail.com. Thank you for your continued support and solidarity in this grass-roots effort to sustain residents of New Orleans as they fight to rebuild their neighborhoods and communities.