New Orleans: Two Years Later

The two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and still there are tens of thousands of families without homes. 30,000 families are scattered across the country in FEMA apartments, 13,000 are in trailers, and hardly any of the 77,000 rental units destroyed in New Orleans have been rebuilt. To share some of these people's stories, we have put together a short film, "When the Saints Go Marching In."

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"Two years after Katrina and thousands are still w/o homes"

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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.