Our Mission

As they undertake one of the most daunting disaster recovery efforts this nation has ever seen, the people of St. Bernard have very practical needs. They need laundry facilities so they can keep themselves and their children clean. They need phones so they can maintain contact with family members scattered across the country. They need internet connections so they can find information about rebuilding their businesses and their homes. They need a centralized location for services so they can receive donated supplies and assistance easily and with dignity. And they need a place to come together to enjoy a hot, nutritious meal and share their ongoing frustrations and successes with their neighbors. The Community Center of St Bernard is dedicated to providing hurricane survivors with the recovery resources they need in a safe and all-inclusive setting.

The Community Center has 2 part-time openings (25 hours/week) for Distribution Assistants to help with food and clothing distribution and also to oversee our laundry facility. These positions are available through the AARP, so you must be at least 55 years old. Basic computer and data-entry skills are needed, and you must be well-organized with a friendly, helpful attitude. For more information about these jobs, please phone Distribution Coordinator Jason Horwitz at 504-281-2512 during normal business hours.

Custom website design and maintenance services are now available from the Community Center of St Bernard! If you or your organization needs a website or blog set up, or just wants to bring the information on your current site up-to-date, the Community Center can help! Fees vary depending on the type of service being provided, with a 15% discount for organizations with a verifiable IRS 501c3 status. For more information about website design services, please phone the Community Center during normal business hours.

Experienced instructors from Swan River Yoga offers free yoga classes at the Community Center of St Bernard every Wednesday evening. Participants will learn simple breathing techniques, meditation tools, and poses for relieving discomfort and increasing health. The Community Center has 20 yoga mats on hand, but class members are welcome to bring their own if they prefer. The classes start at 6PM. They are open to the public and no registration is needed. For more information about the Swan River Yoga and their free yoga classes, please visit www.swanriveryoga.com

Looking for something fun to do this summer? Check out the Community Center! Mondays at 7:30PM are Arts & Crafts Nights, Tuesdays mark the return of Family Movie Night and other recreational activities at 7:30PM following the Community Meal, and of course there's Yoga every Wednesday at 6PM. All events are free and open to the public. More details to come, and hope to see you here!

If you need help with installing installation, painting, or hanging drywall, come by the Community Center any Tuesday from 2PM-4PM and sign up to get some rebuild help from Camp Collide. Camp Collide is a relief agency that is providing free labor in St. Bernard Parish now through August 9. They are based out of Clemson, South Carolina, and they have volunteer groups from all over the country who are helping to get people back in their homes. Please note that Camp Collide does not provide plumbing, electrical or roofing services. For more information contact their main office at 504-278-8890.

The Community Center's Summer 2008 Dinner Dance series will begin on June 28, 2008 with a live performance by award-winning New Orleans singer-songwriter Margie Perez and her band, The Groovy Blues. The evening will begin with a hot meal served from 5 to 7 PM, followed by music and dancing from 7:30 to 10:30 PM. Originally from Washington DC, Ms Perez is a versatile, dynamic and vivacious performer specializing in Blues, Jazz, Pop and Latin. Her performance at the Community Center will feature songs from her both debut CD "Part-time Goddess" and her upcoming CD, "Singing for my Supper", as well as some fun classic New Orleans dance tunes.

During her professional career, Ms Perez has performed with several bands at the legendary Tipitina's, Donna's, and the Maple Leaf, as well as singing and playing at the New Orleans French Quarter Festival, the Jazz and Heritage Festival and Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo. She has shared the stage with many well known New Orleans musicians including Anders Osborne, Henry Butler, George French, John Lisi, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Smoky Greenwell and Allen Toussaint.

In addition to playing her own original music, Ms Perez is also the lead singer of the Rock Party band, the Ibervillians. She also sings and plays percussion with the Funky Jam Band, the Omega Project and the Afro-Cuban vocal and percussion ensemble, Michael Skinkus and Moyuba. The Community Dinner Dance series, sponsored by the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic with food provided through funding from the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps, is free to the general public, and everyone is welcome to attend!

The Community Center welcomes donations of canned foods, used clothing and books, personal hygiene items, cleaning supplies, and baby care items for free distribution to local residents through our Mustard Seed program. All items should be in good condition and food should not be opened or spoiled. For more information about making a donation, please contact Mustard Seed Distribution Manager Jason Horwitz at 504-281-2512.

The Community Center is currently seeking computers, Pentium IV or better, and flat panel monitors to upgrade the media lab, which provides free computer classes and internet access, as well as free telephone, printing, copying and faxing services.

There are also many hands-on volunteer opportunities available at the Community Center. To learn more, please go to www.ccstb.org/images/volunteers.pdf or phone the Community Center Office at 504-281-2512.

Lyle Torres and A&M Electric are continuing their work on our annex building at 1111 LeBeau St. So far the washer and dryer hookups are in, though some electrical and plumbing jobs need to be finished. Walls are also going up in the main space to frame out the food storage area, new food distribution office, and the french doors. Then the air conditioning will be installed and we'll be ready to welcome you all to the laundry's Grand Opening!

• Local and long-distance phone service
• Fax send and receive
• Computers with internet access and technical assistance if needed
• Wireless Internet Access Point (WiFi)
• Distribution center for food, clothes and toiletries
• Performance space for local musicians and artists
• Computer classes
• Space for neighborhood gatherings, community meetings and support groups
• Satellite office space for other agencies
• Laundry facilities (coming soon)
• Community suppers
• Family movie nights, dinner-dances, yoga classes and other family-oriented gatherings

Welcome to the Community Center of St Bernard! If you aren't familiar with Louisiana geography, St Bernard Parish is part of the greater New Orleans area. We're 5 miles east of the heart of New Orleans, just 15 minutes by car from the French Quarter, and we share a boundary with the Ninth Ward.

The effects of Katrina on this once-thriving parish have been devastating and long-lasting. As you know, the hurricane struck on August 29, 2005. When the levees collapsed, flood waters came pouring into every neighborhood in the Parish. Within hours the entire area was submerged. In many cases homes and businesses were covered up to the rooftops. One hundred and eighty people in the Parish drowned. A Times-Picayune interactive-flash graphic showing the timeline and extent of the destruction is available HERE.

And it only got worse. The floodwaters pouring into the local Murphy Oil USA, Inc facility caused the largest domestic residential oil spill in US history. More than 1 million gallons of oil floated on the water and spread into homes, businesses and schools, leaving them filthy, smelly and contaminated. And then on September 24, 2005 Hurricane Rita arrived, sending more water spilling over the collapsed levees and flooding St Bernard Parish again.

The result? Nearly 100% of homes and businesses have incurred severe damage if not out-and-out destruction.

Recovery from this unprecedented destruction will be a slow and painful process. Even more than 2 years after the storms, mail delivery in St Bernard Parish is only at about 39% of pre-Katrina levels. For comparison, next door in New Orleans mail delivery is already at 70%, while Jefferson Parish is at 98%. Many residents who have remained or returned to St Bernard are staying in FEMA trailers, some without electricity and other basic services. And even these tenous living arrangements are under threat as various deadlines for closing the public trailer sites come into effect during 2008.

In short, since that late August day in 2005 the people of St Bernard have had a real and ongoing need for things most people in this country take for granted: laundry facilities, phones, internet access, and accurate information about the recovery plans, procedures and resources that directly affect them. In April 2006 more than 1500 local residents signed a Petition of Support calling for the creation of a permanent facility in their own Parish where these needs could be met, and in July 2006 the Parish Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution of full support.

Plans moved quickly forward due to the generosity of the Andrew Jackson Masonic Lodge No 428 who made Old Hickory Hall building available and the hardworking volunteers who cleaned out the flood debris and refurbished the building. Thanks to this outpouring of community support, the CCSTB was able to open the doors at its permanent facility on January 31, 2007.

Since then we've been proud to provide a place for residents to gather, eat, share, and find the help they need to rebuild their homes, their community and their lives. We hope that you will support us as the recovery effort continues its slow and tortuous pace, and we thank you wholeheartedly for your generosity and assistance.