Undated - It's been 1 year since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and there's still a lot of work to be done to get the city back to normal.

One local police officer just returned from doing his part in the recovery.

Some people don't realize that a lot of the homes in New Orleans are still un-livable.

So, these officers took time out of their summer, to go down and help a New Orleans police officer re-build his house.

It's all part of a program started by officers right here in West Michigan called "Cops Helping Cops".

One of the volunteers is an Ottawa County Sheriff's Deputy named Jeff Jones.

He just came back to Michigan this week.

He says the home "they" were working on, is owned by a Sgt. with the New Orleans Police Department.

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, the officer's home sat in 5-feet of water for several weeks. There was extensive damage to the home and is still unlivable.

The "Cops Helping Cops” program offered to come down and make repairs to his home.

The officers replaced walls, fixed the plumbing and completely re-did the electrical system in the house.

Jones says, "We were working in 110 degree heat....it was a daunting task."

Eric Berger of the New Orleans Police Dept. says, “Just don't know what to say. It's amazing that these people, total strangers would come here and do this for me."

The "Cops Helping Cops" program will continue with many more trips planned to New Orleans.