Not very well-built. No bathrooms upstairs and very little air conditioning. Food wasn't the best but was edible. Good place for a mission trip but not as an actual place to stay. It's not very clean and there are lots of roaches and bugs all around the building. Although it is not the best, it still is in a pretty good part of New Orleans. read more

Camp Hope - Two beautiful young men - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Arabi, Louisiana

Stayed at Camp Hope for a week and helped re-build a home in the STILL devastated areas of St. Bernard's Parish and the Lower 9th Ward. People of all ages 18-80 were working on various homes and helping out in many ways. Pound nails (and thumbs), sort nails, paint, cut wood, et cetera. If you ever have the time --Habitat for humanity welcomes everyone. You can find them in most major cities. By the way, the food and music ain't half bad in NOLA (New Orleans, LA). Do good, feel good and then eat good. Life is good. read more

Camp Hope - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Arabi, Louisiana

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Prior to the BP renovation/take-over, Camp Hope earned 5 stars. It was truly fantastic. Currently (as of June 2011), I give it one star (zero if possible). It is no longer effectively managed. I would not stay there again unless it changed owners. Unfortunately, there were cockroaches and a mouse in the kitchen. While the improvements (paint, new laundry room, more bathroom stalls outside, improved shower room, carpet upstairs, etc...) are very nice, I would rather have the old, community-minded, service-to-all Camp Hope back. I very much got the feeling from the director that they only wanted to help people within St. Bernard Parish, rather than hosting volunteers who volunteer within the city of New Orleans. This seems so ironic, close-minded, and counter-productive to the rebuilding effort considering the two locations are literally blocks away from one another. It was very strange to be back at Camp Hope and to witness how much the atmosphere had changed within one short year. It's disappointing. read more

I have stayed at Camp Hope twice now while rebuilding houses in the New Orleans area. You can't beat the price - for 25 bucks a night you can stay there and have 3 complimentary meals. Camp Hope is the largest volunteer housing development in the U.S., but don't be overwhelmed...it doesn't seem that big. It used to be one of the middle schools until it filed up with 7 feet of water during Katrina. The staff who run the place couldn't be nicer...they are so appriciative of the help. There are a lot of locals who are there every single day to talk with campers and help out with the maintinence of Camp Hope. Strike up a conversation with them because they love to talk! The bunk beds are really comfortable and the showers/bathrooms are community facilities. read more

put simply, camp hope is like an adult summer camp. remember this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LyRMYcHwf4 that's immediately what came to mind after day one at camp hope. it's actually pretty great. hot water showers, friendly staff, food is pretty good and varied (burgers one night, jambalaya another), and the entire building has wireless (but also a computer lab if you leave your laptop at home). they have board games, playing cards, and a pool table to pass the time. lights out at 10PM and may be turned back on at 6AM. though it was truly *home* for the week and i met amazing people from all over the nation, one star is taken off because someone stole my phone charger. not cool. having said that, i'm definitely going back to camp hope when i return to volunteer again. (camp hope will stay at this location for at least another six years.) read more

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Suuuuper uncomfortable experience. I stayed at camp hope for less than a week with other students from my university that dedicated their spring breaks to serve others. The camp in theory is amazing with it's ability to house so many volunteers at a time, but as the only predominantly African American volunteer group out of 300 other kids, to say we felt the heat would be an understatement. The chore system that the main owner, Walt, has established may have seemed fair at first, but we were initially told that some groups may not have to do any sort of chore with such a full house. Fine. However, my group ended up on bathroom duty multiple times, which consists of cleaning 20+ grimy communal men and female showers, and all of the toilets and sink areas inside and outside. Fine. We didn't complain at first, even though we knew others that used the same bathrooms wouldn't have to pitch in to help at all while our group did the extra work. Yet, the second time we were asked to clean, someone defacated in one of the showers. We were horrified, but the problems didn't stop there. The staff turned a blind eye when we brought this to their attention. We wouldn't have taken the act so personally if the next events didn't occur. We were confronted in our room for having our lights on by another group staying in the facility, and we had an enormous plastic bag filled with Caucasian hair left in front of our door. Unknown people would reach in our room and shut lights off on us while we were trying to get ready for bed after long hours of serving the same community they were. Other volunteers and even staff whispered loudly about how we weren't wanted there. We were singled out and mistreated to the point that we felt so unsafe that we left the camp as soon as we could, and relocated across town to finish our service in peace. We feared sleeping in the rooms that had no locks on doors or security for our belongings. We didn't want to stay long enough to see what would happen while we slept. The staff still did nothing. All in all, the food was almost okay, and the showers and electricity eventually began to work again. The facility is decent enough to live in, but nothing glamorous or even entirely functional. If you are a minority, look elsewhere. This place isn't for you. read more

a bit of background... "Camp Hope is a former middle school being used as a basic housing facility for volunteers. Camp Hope provides a place to sleep, recreational space, wireless internet, meeting spaces, and 2 hot meals and a bag lunch for your workday. Camp Hope welcomes volunteers from most organizations working in the greater New Orleans Area." $25 a night per volunteer...in my experience it was safe, relatively clean (for the amount of college-aged guests, a minor miracle), friendly, welcoming, and dedicated to the mission of rebuilding the communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Volunteer run and operated, and much community involvement. Many of the volunteers (and site managers for various rebuild organizations) are Americorps, but many are from the community itself. Some come in just to hang out and share their stories, others cook meals, provide assistance, etc. It's really a pretty cool operation...to say the least. Now, of course...I'd rather stay in a hotel than this hostel type set-up, but I did find it to be a humbling, and obviously economical experience. Probably good to step out of my comfort zone for a bit, and leave behind some of the creature comforts during my stay in New Orleans, if but for a few days. I mean honestly, if this is the worst I can have it, I should count myself lucky, one million fold. If you are looking to volunteer with Habitat or St. Bernard Project (or others), this is a fabulous, well-run, safe place to stay. You'll meet people from all over the country that share in your desire to do a little something to lend some extra energy to some people that need it. The location is about 45 minutes (driving) outside of New Orleans, and many volunteers headed down there in the evening to see the sights, hang out and enjoy the city... Great place....they've made volunteering down in New Orleans a little bit easier. read more

My fellow project participants were treated poorly by other temporary residents. When the management was alerted, we were ignored. It got to the point where we had to leave as there were obvious threats to our health and safety. read more

The staff at Camp Hope treated us more like family than guests. I looked forward to each meal not only for Walt's cooking (his eggplant lasagna is to die for), but for the stories that poured across the table. Anyone who volunteers in New Orleans should stay at Camp Hope for an even more purposeful and memorable experience. read more

Yes, Camp Hope III in Arabi, LA is OPEN! It is open, running, comfortable, and a great time. I just returned from staying at Camp Hope III for 2 weeks from 3-27-2011 to 4-9-2011. There were about 100 there and we fit very comfortably. Here is a link to a youtube video that shows Camp HOPE III : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-NoART-8tQ It has been painted, cleaned, and the showers have all been drywalled and updated since this video. read more

Camp Hope 3 is now open. But I heard it was recently taken over by oil clean-up workers and being renovated using BP money, and Katrina volunteers were temporarily staying in hotels. So, call first and perhaps you'll stay in posh new digs thanks to BP: http://camphope.toolsfororgs.com/camp_hope/index.php read more

My group of 12's experience at camp hope was amazing! In the past 4 months they have made dramatic improvements. The man running it now, named Walt, is super friendly and helpful. And his food is absolutely delicious!! You will certainly not go hungry. read more

This was a very affordable place to stay for our volunteer group. The food was pretty good-- hot meals for breakfast and dinner, and a sack lunch. No dinner on the night we arrived though-- I think they don't cook on weekends. The dorm rooms were very comfortable, there was a nice lounge area where we could hang out, and we made great use of the volleyball net and sports balls they had available. The bathrooms were not the nicest, and we weren't fans of the chores, but for the price it was definitely fair. read more

Camp hope was completely flooded when Katrina hit. They reopened so that volunteer groups could have a place to say while they so graciously volunteer their time to help rebuild the New Orleans area. I worked for 5 days with St. Bernard Project rebuilding homes and i stayed at camp hope for 7 nights. It's no 5 star hotel but we helped in the kitchen, with chores, played ping pong and pool and its a great place full of ever more amazing people. If you're going to humble yourself and volunteer your time this is the perfect place to stay. My college group and I had absolutely 0 problems in our week long stay. I cant wait to go back!!! Don't forget, If you go with a group or even just by yourself, make sure to buy and paint/ decorate your very own ceiling tile! ;) read more

This is Camp Hope III - they moved to a new location in January of 2010, and are now operated by the St. Bernard Parish government. It's still the same Camp Hope though. $25 a day for 3 meals, a warm bed, and a chance to live with dozens (or hundreds) of other people who are all there to help with the ongoing recovery of the New Orleans area. You really ought to stay at Camp Hope if you are coming down to volunteer - there is nothing like it anywhere else. This is real community. read more

This place is awesome. I've been there every winter to volunteer through SBP for the past 4 years and it's been amazing every time - about the best value for your money you can get for a volunteer base. Three awesome meals a day, good shower houses, a ton of high efficiency washers and dryers to clean your work clothes, and the staff has been really cool as well. The only thing that could be improved is that the beds aren't the most comfortable, but you aren't paying for a 5 star hotel. read more

As someone who loves to travel and volunteer I must say camp hope is the best of the best! Clean environment, two warm meals a day, hot showers, and comfy beds! We were so happy with our stay and to staff was so amazing and treated us so kindly. Absolutely zero complaints. If you volunteer in the lower 9 Camp Hope is a must!! read more