NOLA's patron and local hero is resident Brad Pitt

By April MacIntyre Dec 3, 2008, 16:18 GMT

Hero of NOLA- Brad Pitt - "Changling" London Premiere - Arrivals - Curzon Cinema - Mayfair, London, UK © Solarpix / PR Photos

Brad Pitt is becoming the patron Saint of New Orleans for many needy families this Holiday season.

The vast fallout is still raw and unfinished from the devastating Hurricane Katrina from several years ago.  Actor Sean Penn organized a group of volunteers to caravan to New Orleans to help local Louisiana victims after the 2008 Coachella music festival, and Monsters and Critic's reporter S.P. MacIntyre was embedded in the group dubbed "The Dirty Hands Caravan".  His excellent first-hand account of the experience is here

Pitt has taken the rebuilding cause a step further, as the vibrant cultural, musical and culinary destination is now home to his growing family, when not traveling the world. 

The actor built six houses in the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood for some lucky families to move in. It will be those families’ first holidays spent in their home since the destructive hurricane struck. 

Pitt's Make It Right foundation - with help from some generous corporate sponsors -launched a year ago and aims to build 150 energy-efficient homes in a section of New Orleans where Hurricane Katrina broke levees in the summer of 2005 causing enormous damage.

Pitt said he was surprised at how his effort to help rebuild New Orleans through his Make It Right Foundation has been such a big success. The actor was touched by the efforts of so many people would became involved with the project.

“I never had any idea that so many people would show up for this. The model works and it’s replicable,” Pitt told the January issue of Architectural Digest. “We’ve cracked something here…these houses redefine affordable housing. This is proving ground for a bigger idea that could work globally.”

Although he is very happy to see the progress, he is frustrated and anxious to help more families who are still homeless.

“The excitement is that it's being proven, that it's working. The frustration is that we have a long way to go," Brad Pitt said according to The Associated Press.

Two other homes are under construction and the erection of 14 other begins in early 2009.

"You're going to see 100 homes here, mark my words. It's nice to see a few, but I'm anxious to see 100, 150, 1,000.," he said, adding that the Lower 9th Ward will most likely become one of the largest "green" neighborhoods in the U.S.