Inez Converse

A housewife and mother of 12, Inez Converse lived in the same house on Deslonde Street in the Lower 9th Ward for 36 years. Originally from St. Francisville, Louisiana, Ms. Converse moved with her husband when she was 21-years-old to the place she called home. Before Hurricane Katrina, she and her son Willie Converse Jr. both say that they knew everyone in the neighborhood. Willie recalls playing dominoes and throwing horseshoes with neighborhood friends along the levee. Ms. Converse’s husband, Willie Converse Sr., worked at the steel mill across the Industrial Canal and she took care of their children, as well as the cooking and sewing. Her husband died in 2002, after more than 30 years of wedded bliss.

Ms. Converse evacuated for Hurricane Katrina on Saturday, August 27, before the hurricane made landfall with two of her daughters. They were able to make it as far as Jackson, Mississippi when Katrina hit. Unfortunately, Jackson also was affected by the Hurricane and they were forced to continue to St. Louis, Missouri. While in St. Louis, one of her daughters passed away because she did not have access to the medication she needed in Jackson. Ms. Converse stayed in St. Louis for six months before moving back to live with another daughter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Because he worked as a bus driver with the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), Willie Converse Jr. stayed behind in New Orleans until the Wednesday following Hurricane Katrina. Later, he was evacuated to Baton Rouge, where both he and his mother stayed until recently.   

Make It Right was brought to Ms. Converse’s attention through the media and from her son’s friend. She was tired of waiting on Road Home and decided to apply. Willie Converse was relieved to build with Make It Right because he says that they “took care of everything.”  He didn’t have to find individual contractors or deal with getting permits from the City of New Orleans. “The worry of being ripped off by a contractor was taken out of the equation.” 

The Converse’s are excited about returning to the place they call home.

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