Janice, and her family, thank all of the volunteers that helped put her house back together.


View through the living spaces at completion of the house.


View through the hallway to the new accessible bathroom


After tearing off the first layer of the exterior of the house, it was apparent that the foundation also needed to be repaired.


Janice’s house gets turned inside out

A House For Janice

Community Partners : East Biloxi Coordination Center
Building Partners: Habitat for Humanity Northern Virginia

Janice grew up with five sisters and one brother in the house that her father built in 1955 on Nixon Street and had returned to live there about 6 years before Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed her home. Prior to the storm, Janice cared for many of her family members here when they fell ill. Janice has moved into the home since it’s completion by Habitat for Humanity Northern Virginia with her sister Doris, who requires handicap accessibility. Janice’s daughter, who is now in college, will stay in the guest room when she comes home to visit.

With this in mind, the main design issues addressed with the revised plan of Janice’s house include making the bathroom larger and creating a bedroom for Doris that is spacious and easy to maneuver around. By moving the front door from the North side of the house to the West side, the front bedroom is able to be extended and a generous walk-through closet area is possible.  The bathroom is able to be accessed directly from that bedroom, as well as the hallway and is outfitted with an ADA walk-in shower and hand-rails for the toilet.

Additionally, Janice will continue to host her young relatives (she has 14 neices and nephews that have been visiting her here over the summers), so it was very important to include a kitchen layout that provided for plenty of cabinet and counter space, and also to keep it open to the rest of the public areas of the house.

Plan with modifications.

Existing plan after being gutted.

Elevation