Oprah on Angel Lane

 
For the first time, 12 families get to see their brand new, fully furnished and decorated Oprah's Katrina Homes! The Oprah Winfrey Show is in Houston for the special celebration! It's a chilly, rainy day, but nothing can dampen the high spirits on Angel Lane.

It was only six months ago, after witnessing the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, that Oprah pledged $10 million of her own money toward building homes—and rebuilding lives. Oprah.com launched Oprah's Katrina Homes registry so that viewers could shop online to help furnish the houses. In a matter of weeks, Oprah's Angel Network received millions of dollars in donations! And to this day, donations keep pouring in for Katrina families who have lost everything.

Moving into action, Oprah's Angel Network teamed up with Habitat for Humanity® to build and furnish homes for 65 families relocated to Houston. Just a couple of months after announcing her pledge, Oprah delivered the good news to the first 50 families. It was a moment of pure joy for Oprah when she traveled with the families to the site of their new neighborhood on Angel Lane.
Volunteers work on the homes' exteriors while Nate designs the interiors

 
For this special collaborative project, Houston Habitat for Humanity® allowed Oprah's Angel Network to furnish the new homes—so decorator Nate Berkus joined the team! As construction got underway on Angel Lane, Nate surprised some of the families with the news that they would be helping to build their own brand new home! As part of their "down payment," each family would put in 300 hours of sweat equity. They weren't the only ones working—over three months, thousands of volunteers put in 18,000 hours to help build the first 12 of 65 homes. "It's amazing what will happen when everybody gets together to lend a hand," Nate said. "It's overwhelming, it's inspiring and it's really beautiful. I'm glad to be a part of it."

While our volunteer "Angel army" worked on the houses' exteriors, Nate was busy designing three different decorating schemes for the interiors. Nate personally selected furnishings—sofas, rugs, bedding, dining room tables, lighting fixtures and more. As the homes neared completion, Nate coordinated paint colors for every room of each home, making sure the colors worked with the fabrics and furnishings he chose.
Nate at Target

 
Armed with a list from the Oprah.com Katrina registry, Nate started by picking out furnishings for the homes at Target. From toasters and dishes, to mops and pails, Nate selected all the items for the homes. He also picked out furniture from Storehouse, plus children's furniture from Young America.

After months of planning and shopping, the delivery day for all the items finally arrived. A caravan of trucks headed down Angel Lane, with our friends from Target leading the way! Volunteers helped to unload the items, which were different for every house. "We wanted each house to be special," Nate explained. "Not every family is the same, so each house is going to have its own feeling."

While Nate and the team of volunteers decorated the interiors, landscapers worked to make the outside of the homes as beautiful as the inside. "It's coming together beautifully!" Nate said.

Watch Nate transform the houses on Angel Lane into homes! Watch
 
Tammy's old home

 
Tammy's family is one of 12 families receiving a beautiful new home on Angel Lane. Before Katrina hit, Tammy lived in her childhood home with her husband, Larry, and their children, Thaddeus, Ashley and Rashad. Tammy was a substitute teacher, and Larry was a cable technician.

Recently, Tammy and her sister Elonda returned to New Orleans to say a final goodbye to the house that held a lifetime of memories. Before going in, they had to put on protective gear because there was dangerous mold everywhere. When they stepped inside, they were shocked by what they saw. Looters had been in the home—even their couch was missing. The walls were covered in grime and there were piles of trash everywhere.

As they walked through each room, Tammy found many sentimental objects—her daughter's violin, family pictures, a journal, her son's pillow—but not a single piece could be salvaged. The kitchen, once the heart of Tammy's home, was in ruins.

"Everything we had worked for the last nine years was just demolished," Tammy said. "We had just finished paying [off] every lick of furniture. Everything we worked for is gone."

For Tammy, the full impact of Katrina's destruction was still sinking in. "When I looked around, I saw visions of ... my family being trapped," she said. "It's just devastating to think my family could have been dead. It's hard to say goodbye, but I believe God has a better plan."
Tammy, Larry and their children have a new home!

 
They've been waiting six months for this moment...it's the first time Tammy, Larry and their children have seen inside their new home!

"It's so beautiful!" Tammy says as she steps inside. "I'm so excited I think I'm going to fall down!"

The living room is painted in earth tones that complement the gold window treatments, deep brown furniture and blue accent pillows. On one wall hangs a special gift from Pam Francis Photography—the family recently sat down for their first professionally photographed portrait!

The kitchen is ready to go—cabinets are full of dishes and glasses from Target. Feed the Children and H-E-B grocery stores stocked the fridge and pantry. In the master bedroom, Tammy is moved to see that the paint color, a gorgeous green shade, is the same as her old room in New Orleans. "It makes it feel like home," she says, her eyes filling with tears. "God is good. ... Thank you, Oprah!"
Melissa, a survivor of Hurricane Katrina

 
Melissa, a single mother of two, is thrilled to be receiving an Oprah's Katrina Home. Before the hurricane, life was good for her and her sons. Fourteen-year-old Earl and 6-year-old Torren were in two of New Orleans's best schools, and she was working with the Internal Revenue Service.

Melissa had owned her home for the past 10 years. She had just completed a major renovation only two months before the storm hit. Melissa and her sons fled to Texas right before the hurricane devastated their neighborhood. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw TV reports a few days later. "I was looking at the news, and the lady was calling in because her family was trapped on the roof," Melissa said. "And when she gave the name of the streets, I realized that that street was one street from my house. When they said the levees broke and the water was coming, I knew that my area was destroyed."
Melissa's old home

 
After five months, Melissa and her sons headed back to New Orleans to see what was left of their home. Every square inch of the house was covered in mold. On the wall, a framed picture of Earl as a baby hung caked with dirt.

"You can replace furniture, you can replace a house, but this is something that you can only have a memory of," Melissa said of the picture. "I can't replace that. ... It's something that I will have to keep at heart because there is nothing else I can do."

As the family dug through the debris, they only found a few salvageable items from their life before Katrina. "I have a '#1 Mom' pendant from Earl that I received on Mother's Day one year, so I was glad to find it," Melissa said. "So I can get a chain and wear it proudly because this is it—this is all we have from New Orleans."
Melissa and her sons tour their new home.

 
Nate takes Melissa and her sons on a tour of their brand new home! In the living room, beautiful new leather furniture and warm earth tones create a welcoming look. As in all the homes on Angel Lane, the attached dining room and kitchen create a spacious open layout, perfect for bringing the entire family together. The kitchen is fully stocked, from dishes in the cabinets to food in the refrigerator. Behind closet doors are a brand new washer and dryer!

It's on to the bedrooms—each family member will finally have a special place of their own! Nate places a memento in each room to replace something each family member lost in the hurricane. For Melissa, a framed photo of her sons; for Torren, a new backpack and games; and for Earl, a prized poster he received for excellence in leadership, to replace the original damaged in Hurricane Katrina.

There's one last surprise outside for Earl and Torren, who are both huge basketball fans—it's their very own basketball hoop! Angel Lane is already beginning to feel like home.
Nathan and Esther in their old home

 
Esther, a police dispatcher, and Nathan, an art teacher, have been married 27 years. Their new home is their first opportunity to own after years of renting. Back in New Orleans, their second floor apartment was a gathering spot for their three children and 10 grandchildren.

While they rode out the storm in a high-rise building, their home was flooded under 12 feet of water. They spent a few uncertain days traveling around the area before fleeing to Houston.

Recently, Esther and Nathan returned to their old neighborhood, which is now a ghost town. Their apartment was so damaged it was barely safe to enter. Nathan was devastated to see a lifetime of treasures destroyed. Some of his favorite pieces of art were ruined, including a portrait of Esther. Cherished family photographs were missing—even Esther and Nathan's wedding album was nowhere to be found.

"I said goodbye in my heart in there," Nathan said after seeing his home in ruins. "I'm glad I don't have to come here again."
Esther and Nathan's new home

 
Gayle takes Esther and Nathan on a tour of their new home with their grandson, Jamal. In the living room, Gayle reveals a big surprise for Nathan—experts restored the portrait he painted of his wife! Now Nathan's prized work of art finds new life in their new home.

The kitchen contains more surprises, including fully stocked cabinets and brand new appliances. Fresh flowers and pretty place settings grace the elegant dining room table. Plus, Esther and Nathan have everything they'll need to keep their home looking new, from a vacuum cleaner to a washer and dryer.

In Esther and Nathan's new master bedroom, shades of blue and brown create a soothing space. A framed photo of the couple with Nate, taken when the house was under construction, reminds them of all their hard work. Nathan says he is proud to know he had a hand in building his own home. "The best part about it is that it's personal," Nathan says.

"I couldn't guess how beautiful it would be!" Esther says.
Rodney and his daughter Jade

 
Rodney, a high school physical education teacher, was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. "I lost my home. I lost my job. I lost my friends," he says. "It makes you feel really helpless."

After leaving New Orleans with no money and just the clothes on his back, Rodney moved to Houston, where his 5-year old daughter, Jade, was living with her mother.

Rodney was able to get a job as a high school health teacher, and his life is looking up, but he dreams of providing a good home for his daughter. For the past six months, Rodney has been living with his parents—when Jade visits, she sleeps on the couch or the floor. Rodney applied to receive a Habitat for Humanity® house in Houston so that Jade will finally have a room of her own.
Jade's new room

 
It's a special place just for Jade!

The pink walls and fun floral bedspread are so pretty. Plenty of stuffed animals, books and toys make it a little girl's dream room.

"It's what we've been looking for," Rodney says. "I'm ecstatic!"
Lynell, Ariel and Noel

 
As Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans, Lynell, a single mom, faced a heartwrenching decision. Lynell says that when she called her job to say she was going to evacuate with her family, she was told she'd be fired if she didn't come in to work. Reluctantly, Lynell sent her 13-year-old daughter Ariel to Texas to be with her sister's family while she stayed behind to ride out the storm. Ariel begged her mother not to go to work. "I was thinking, 'What's going to happen? I might never see my mom again,'" Ariel says.

The next day, floodwaters surged, filling Lynell's home, but she escaped to higher ground. From atop her neighbor's house, Lynell could only watch as the floodwaters washed away everything she owned. "The only thing I had was the clothes that I had on my back," Lynell says. "I lost everything."

Finally, Lynell found shelter, but it was days before she got the news that Ariel was safe in Fort Worth. Without a home or job, Lynell left for Houston to stay with her brother and piece together a new life. It took weeks to find an apartment of her own and to enroll in a community college—weeks spent away from Ariel.

"Every time I think of that, I cry because my mother is like [the] only person I really look up to," Ariel says. "I love her with all of my heart. I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world."

After three long months, Lynell was finally able to reunite with her daughter. "Now that I'm back with her, I love her and appreciate her even more," Ariel says about her mother. "I know she will always be there."

Lynell, Ariel and Noel—Lynell's son who attends college in Georgia—plus eight other families wait excitedly on their porches for the signal to open their front doors for the first time. Welcome home, everybody!
More families are surprised with Oprah's Katrina Homes

 
The celebration isn't over yet! Oprah surprises the audience with the news that they're the next 15 families to receive a home! To cheers and tears of joy, Oprah welcomes everyone to their new neighborhood on Angel Lane!

Houston is only the beginning, Oprah says—Oprah's Angel Network has committed to putting 250 families affected by Hurricane Katrina in new homes. "I'm hoping you will continue to open your hearts and do what you can," Oprah says.