St. Mary's is the school where volunteers working with Common Ground Collective are housed. It's in the Upper 9th Ward and many people were saved by staying here during Hurricane Katrina. Apparently, residents within this neighborhood swam here in water as high as the telephone polls to find refuge on the roof of the school.

There as many as 500 volunteers who stay in the school at once. It is also used as a shelter for New Orleans residents who were displaced from their homes.