It Makes a Village

"WELCOME TO ANGEL LANE!" proclaimed a banner above the brand-new cul-de-sac. Move-in day had arrived for 12 families—all survivors of hurricanes Katrina or Rita, all about to become Houston homeowners. Undaunted by the February chill, they posed, beaming, with Oprah Winfrey, agog to finally set foot in their new houses, built by Houston Habitat for Humanity with support from the Angel Network's Operation Katrina Homes and decorated by designer Nate Berkus.

But these families weren't just moving in to a suburban subdivision: This was a neighborhood. "Look around you at all the people here," Oprah told them. "You might have come in as strangers, but you'll all become neighbors."