Catch Kingsley House on HBO’s Treme

The seniors at the Kingsley House Adult Services program love watching tv. A new flat screen is mounted on the brick wall of an enclosed porch. Just to the left of it hang two beautiful old shutters. The white board shutters, with crescents carved into them, lead into a room that’s sparsely furnished and quiet now. Just a few chairs and a sofa lay around as the sounds of the tv and the shouts of children filter into the room. The only unusual thing about the room is the walls. They’re covered with dozens of empty picture hooks hanging at every level. The room is waiting, ready to be transformed into a set for the new HBO series Treme. This Sunday, April 18th, the room won’t be to the side of the tv. It’ll be at the center of tv screens around the nation as the office of Creighton Bernette, John Goodman’s character on the show, which is a music-filled drama about the months following Hurricane Katrina. Bernette is a college professor who is a passionate, and often profane, voice for the rebuilding of New Orleans.

It’s fitting that Kingsley House would be the set for Creighton Bernette’s office. After Hurricane Katrina, the nonprofit played a key role in the rebuilding of the city and the return of its citizens. It’s part of a 114 year tradition of service that has confronted the key challenges of each generation. “When the community needed education on Tuberculosis we were at the forefront and when Hurricane Katrina devastated our city and our families, we created the first Resettlement and Recovery Center in the Gulf Coast,” said Kingsley House Development Director Donna Paramore. “We are the community’s safe haven through dramatic change.”

Kingsley House serves more than 7,000 people annually through the Adult Services program for seniors and medically fragile adults; the largest Head Start Program in the city; an afterschool program; a summer camp; a teen program; Food Stamp and Medicaid Enrollment Assistance; Family Counseling and Community and Supportive Services. The nonprofit serves with an excellence that has attracted regional and national recognition. Kingsley House holds the highest four star rating for financial integrity from Charity Navigator. Kingsley House is a member organization of LANO, and their Executive Director, Dr. Keith Liederman, is a board member. Kingsley House is also a Louisiana Standards for Excellence® Seal Holder. Standards for Excellence® is a national accrediting program that promotes 57 standards based on eight guiding principles. These standards describe how the most well-managed nonprofit organizations should, and do, operate. LANO is one of five inaugural replicating partners of the Standards for Excellence and is spreading the model to other states.

Treme has received its own critical acclaim and after one episode has been signed for a second season. Tune in on Sunday night, April 18th, at 9pm (central time) and watch for the scene shot at Kingsley House!