By now, the initial images are familiar: rows of city blocks flooded past the horizon, crowds outside the Superdome begging for help, hundreds stranded on highways looking for somewhere to go.
Two years after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana on August 29, 2005, the story is no longer about leaving. It's about coming home. For many, that process has not been easy. Tens of thousands of houses still remain empty, a majority of them belonging to the poor. In New Orleans alone, most of the 77,000 rental units have not been rebuilt.
As staggering as the numbers are, though, they cannot do justice to the emotional turmoil left in the hurricane's wake. Just what does it take for a family to start over? How does one survive not only the loss of a house, but the very real economic hardships of paltry insurance payments and lack of jobs, housing, and so many basic needs.
Photojournalist Brenda Ann Kenneally, originally on assignment for The New York Times Magazine, documents the seemingly endless struggles some families face as they set about Finding the Way Home: Two Years After Katrina.
What does it take for a family to start over? Photojournalist Brenda Ann Kenneally documents the seemingly endless struggles some families face as they set about Finding the Way Home: Two Years After Katrina.
Note: Not all comments will be posted due to space and time constraints.
Josh -- Vernal, Utah, USA
Mar 14, 2009 at 1:22 PM
Powerful story. But it raises a few questions. If the main family in this story has time to watch tv and play video games, why don't they use that time to clean and repair the house? You can get nice paint from a local hardware store that was mixed wrong for about the same price as a pack of the cigarettes they were smoking. One gallon could paint one room. Why don't they use the little money they have on supplies instead of perishables like cigarettes and beer? The $10K they got from FEMA should be plenty to fix up their house. We need a story on who is really responsible for us...ourselves, or the government?
sarah -- nashville, tn united states
Dec 22, 2008 at 3:47 PM
So the gov can dish out billions of dollars to the banks and make sure they make their executive pay... but the same gov can't build these people decent houses... something in the milk ain't clean... and wish everybody would smell it.
Rubala -- thornhill, ontario, canada
Sep 10, 2008 at 10:01 PM
i truly respect this project. and i just didn't relalize how fortunate we are to have everything we have and yetso still complain. we can never be satisfied. it is shocking to see even though this family has no money and not a proper house to live in they are very happy for what they have. i realy think that the government should be taking issues like this around the world into more consideraion. and by just giving them money doesn't help but by taking action themselves.
Julie -- ON, Canada
Sep 9, 2008 at 10:05 PM
I was amased to learn facts about numbers of families who are still living with no shelter. that's really sad.
lavrn jeffri -- calumet park il
Feb 27, 2008 at 4:28 PM
It's a shame that the government has not did a better job, but may god save all the famalies....
Frank Espada -- San Francisco, CA
Jan 22, 2008 at 10:36 AM
It does my heart good to discover your project. As a life-long photojournalist and teacher, I have almost given up on the almost complete absence of true photojournalism. The mainstream media has turned a blind eye to the everyday struggles of many of our citizens. I encourage you to continue your excellent work and will make it my business to spread the word. Thank you.
Benjamin Engel -- Tel Aviv, Israel
Oct 17, 2007 at 10:02 PM
I am amaized by the sensitivity and the quality of the short reportage diricly in the tradition of albert londres , spontaneous, touching. and informative; Lord what about 120 K people that are still waiting for help ! i wish luck to this poor family and may god bless them...
Yan -- Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Sep 16, 2007 at 8:30 PM
Thank you for your project. I was really moved watching the Finding the way home... I am quite surprised nothing is done to really help those people. I don't understand why the poor and middle class people always have to struggle with problems they can't manage without any help from the US government. I guess not being american doesn't help me understand how a country can leave its people in such a situation without trying to give them a real chance to recover.Keep up with the good work !
Daniel -- Ocean Springs, MS, USA
Aug 28, 2007 at 10:02 PM
Thank you for doing this project. Many people think that only poor people were displaced and that is not the case. Many people that had good paying jobs, were lower middle class, middle class, etc. lost everything they had to Katrina. The country, it seems to those of us that lived through it and still live with the struggle to this day, have forgotten about us. There are a few people that still think that it is important for the nation to remember that hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and are still struggling with the red tape in our government bureaucracy. These are just a few of the stories. There are far too many to highlight. Thank you again for this project. I can only hope that people will see this and realize what people are still struggling with two years after Hurricane Katrina. I wouldn't wish federal government "assistance" on anyone in this country after witnessing it first hand and through documentaries such as this.
Joao Bicalho -- Orange Park Florida
Aug 28, 2007 at 5:06 PM
I am an international student at UNF and my major is journalism with a minor in photojournalism - I loved the website! The messages are conveyed in such a human way - it touched me deeply. Greeeaaaatttt job.
Stephanie -- Houston, TX
Aug 28, 2007 at 3:03 PM
You hear about how bad N.O. is nothing compared to seeing the actually families that are involved. It is a very sad situation for everyone involved except the LA government.Houston has a problem now with all the Katrina victims who came to this area . Probably another story whole story for Media Storm.Greeat job.
Photography & Video: Brenda Ann Kenneally
Producer: Eric Maierson
Executive Producer: Brian Storm
Scanning: Pamela Chen, April Bisner, Deb Dutcher, A. Akari Hashimura, Deneka Peniston
Production Assistance: Denise O. Mangen
