Hi my name is Darel. Hurricane Katrina has displaced hundreds of thousands of residents of New Orleans. You probably heard many stories about people, about their lives after Katrina. Well I would like to tell you mine. For me, New Orleans is my heart. My family has been in New Orleans for generations. It’s been 10 years since Katrina and I’d say that my life is still difficult. We was blindsided. Everything changed. Everything was just ripped away in an instant. We have been moving place to place after Katrina (Nachez, Mississippi 1 year ) (Baton Rouge Louisiana- 2 years) (New Orleans-Hollygrove- 1 year, 12th ward- 3 years, and Little Woods-3 years). My mom(Consuella) has been for a long time, been dealing with post traumatic stress. She is a hard working woman. She try to do her best but I can see how much it's hurting her. She try's to do her best for everyone before taking care of herself. It's really painful to see a love one struggle to do their best and see no reward. My Grandma (Sylvia) been in & out of the hospital since Katrina all our money been going to hospital bills. My Grandma has been struggling, she been going through one illness after another diabetes, went blind, breast cancer, arthritis, strokes,and seizures. No matter what happens to her, she always say God will make away. She always stay strong with the Lord. She is the one that holds everything together. All she wants is for us to be happy.

I need held, I want to get my Mom and Grandma back into their home. I want them to stop suffering from moving place to place. They need a home where they can rest their head at night and not worry about having to move the next day. I want them to be happy with a home! A place where they can call home.