This week marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. For All Hands & Hearts, it was the storm that ignited our first U.S. response, and defined the identity of our organization for decades to come.
Brianne, one of our earliest AH&H volunteers, recalled: “I remember exiting our van when we arrived to gut a house in a New Orleans neighborhood, and the smell of mold wafted into our noses. We saw houses that looked like the one dropped on the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. The house was somehow not on its foundation but totally in another location nearby.”
What It Was Like On the Ground Following Katrina
When relief volunteers arrived in neighborhoods hit by Katrina, the scenes were staggering. Entire streets were engulfed in the stench of mold. Homes were ripped off their foundations and had floated several blocks from their original foundations. Cars and boats were scattered where the floodwaters had left them, like toys thrashed around during the storm’s tantrum.
Angelica, an AH&H volunteer who was on the ground then, and is still with us now, shared: “One of the hardest things I witnessed was a baby’s bassinet found 20 feet up in a tree. It put a great deal of perspective on the severity caused by the flooding and winds.”
Across the Gulf Coast, communities were completely deserted, abandoned during the crisis. Aside from relief volunteers and government workers, there were little to no signs of daily life in those first months. Whole neighborhoods sat eerily silent, awaiting the return of their communities that weren’t sure to ever come back.
The Disaster That Changed History
In late August 2005, Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast, leaving behind an immense human tragedy and a situation that would change the trajectory of U.S. disaster response forever. After reaching Category 5 strength in the Gulf of Mexico, it made landfall as a devastating Category 3 with violent winds and a storm surge up to 28 feet. In New Orleans, catastrophic levee failures, never designed for a storm of this magnitude, left 80% of the city underwater, destroying tens of thousands of homes and triggering massive search-and-rescue operations.
The storm claimed an estimated 1,833 lives and displaced millions across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. A group of dedicated volunteers who had come together months earlier to support communities devastated by the Indian Ocean Tsunami found themselves called to action once again, this time on U.S. soil, rolling up their sleeves to distribute essential supplies, clear debris, clean out mold from flooded homes, and help families begin the long road to recovery.
Just eight days after landfall, that spirit of compassion and urgency was formalized through the incorporation of an organization today known as All Hands and Hearts (AH&H).
AH&H and Our First U.S. Response
The earliest iteration of AH&H arrived in Biloxi, Mississippi, days after Hurricane Katrina’s historic landfall. Biloxi, a city on the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans, was one of the hardest-hit communities during the storm. Its emblematic landmark is the city’s lighthouse, where the storm surge’s high-water mark left a scar 36 feet high on its walls.
After setting up camp, we focused immediately on making connections with residents and local leaders alike by meeting people where they’re at, whether that was in the street or at a council meeting. It was a pragmatic, roll-up-your-sleeves approach that resonated.
Our group’s flexible approach to recovery meant tackling everything from clearing debris strewn across vacant neighborhoods to supporting the overwhelmed Biloxi SPCA, which had been inundated with rescued animals while half its staff were displaced.
The newly established organization’s call for volunteers was heeded across the nation, where people who wanted to make a difference after Hurricane Katrina were given the opportunity, regardless of their background or skills, to join the movement and get to work on the ground.
Stefanie Chang, who was in Biloxi as an early volunteer and now sits on AH&H’s Board 20 years later, shared: “The flexibility created an environment where serendipitous things could happen. It allowed AH&H to quickly earn the trust of the local community, showing up simply as neighbors helping neighbors, even if those neighbors came from all over the country.”
As such, the team became a trusted problem-solver in the area, and would quickly gain national recognition. Over five months, 1,500 disaster relief volunteers cycled through our base in Biloxi. The group even caught the attention of high-profile visitors like Usher and President Bush, who came to show their support for the work being accomplished.
In the early days after Hurricane Katrina, every organization on the ground had a specific focus: the Red Cross provided meals, the Salvation Army distributed goods. Stepping into the gaps, AH&H co-founder David Campbell was among the first to lead a more flexible, hands-on approach during the Katrina response, ensuring communities received the help they most urgently needed.
“From day one, we would listen,” co-founder of AH&H, David Campbell, says. “The community would give us a specific problem, and we would solve it.”
David recalled how Katrina had torn away every street sign in Biloxi. Our volunteers went to get simple supplies to create new ones, wooden boards with the street names painted on and their logo in the corner. Overnight, those makeshift signs became a symbol of help on the ground, supporting residents, first responders and other organizations assisting on the ground. “Neighbors recognized the logo, stopped us in the street, and asked for the support they needed,” he recalled.
Even four months later, the signs were intact, providing vital guidance in those early days, long before GPS could help.
Since this time, our teams jumped in wherever the need was greatest. In Biloxi, before even reaching the volunteer base, new arrivals were unloading cargo planes packed with aid and rushing supplies to local distribution centers. Crews gutted homes, sanitized for mold, and restored public spaces so families could begin returning. Each night at base, community meetings became a place to share progress and swap stories of resilience and neighbors taking their inspiring steps toward recovery. It’s a tradition that continues at all AH&H bases today.
The group’s work brought structure and hope to devastated neighborhoods that had nowhere else to turn. Whether salvaging a home so a family could return or supporting with children’s activities at daycares, the mission was always the same: listen to what the community needed and get it done.
Learning From Katrina
The lessons of Katrina continue to shape AH&H’s identity. From the very beginning, we learned that communities are the true experts of their recovery, and our role is to listen, act quickly, and stay for as long as it takes. What makes AH&H special is this commitment to being a genuine partner, to be present in the hardest moments, responsive to evolving needs, and committed in staying until the community is ready to stand stronger on its own.
That spirit of authenticity remains at the heart of what AH&H is today: an organization that doesn’t show up to lead a disaster response with what it thinks should help, but comes in as a neighbor, providing the specific help that’s needed in the moment.
“The heart of AH&H is showing up for communities, at their level, and working alongside them,” shared Stefanie Chang, Board Member at AH&H. “That human connection, that willingness to help without pretence, is what truly sets us apart.”
Early arrival, staying late, and centering our approach around community-led recovery have been our leading values across every disaster response since. Two decades later, the urgency has only grown. As climate change fuels stronger hurricanes, more destructive wildfires, and record-breaking floods, the demand for compassionate, hands-on support is greater than ever. The work that began 20 years ago remains our commitment today. AH&H stands beside survivors from the immediate aftermath to the point where homes, schools and lives are rebuilt.
The Next 20 Years
As we mark 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, we look forward with both humility and determination. The road ahead is steep. Climate change and humanitarian crises are displacing millions and putting communities at greater risk each year. We know that with an outstanding community of volunteers, partners, donors, and community leaders, recovery happens in beautiful ways. Every action we take, from clearing debris to rebuilding schools, is a step toward a future where disasters do not define lives. As we look ahead, we invite you to stand with us—whether as a volunteer, donor, or partner—so that no community faces tomorrow’s disasters alone.
Join Us
The challenges are immense, but so is the power of collective action. Join us in honoring the legacy of Katrina by supporting communities facing disaster today.
Whether you volunteer, donate, or partner with us, your contribution helps ensure that families around the world are not alone in their recovery. Together, we can carry forward the compassion and urgency we learned throughout Katrina, because rebuilding lives is work we must never stop doing.
