Poverty

A group from Hopwood, along with five other area churches, recently returned from our weeklong service trip to New Orleans. While it has been over two years since the devastating hurricane Katrina hit the gulf cost, its presence nevertheless remains among the dilapidated neighborhoods as well as the broken spirits of the natives. Even now, two years later, the population of the city is only one third of what it used to be. Many of the houses in the poorer districts were bulldozed over because the owners were unable to gut the house of all their belongings that had been soaked through with mold and mildew. Many of the houses that were not leveled are still only standing as a skeleton in neighborhoods that are cluttered with trash and overgrown weeds.

Many of us drive I-26 through Johnson City on a daily basis to shop, to work, to play. As we pass by the old downtown section, the skyline of Johnson City is in plain view. Perhaps the most distinguishable building in that part of town is unique because of its height and art-deco trim along the roof.