Dear President Obama:

My name is Jade Windon, 7th grade student at McDonogh 42 Charter School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. President, I write to you expressing how many of our lives continue to be affected today by the storm that happened almost four years ago. Hurricane Katrina devastated the lives of everyone here and in the Gulf Coast region. Here in New Orleans, we are making very little progress. Our communities are still feeling the effects of Katrina. I ask you Mr. President to please help us rebuild our lives and city. Our school, jobs and health care are just a few of the things that I would like to see fixed. Thank you Mr. President and may God Bless America, especially New Orleans.

Sincerely, Jade Windon.”

Jade is one of thousands of children from New Orleans and the surrounding areas for whom life is still not back to normal four years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. Even though significant strides toward recovery have been made, for many residents there is still a long way to go. A new report commissioned by the Children’s Defense Fund’s Southern Regional and Louisiana offices outlines many of the ongoing needs and the lessons for our nation. Three of the most serious problems still facing children and families are housing, health care and education.

Hurricane Katrina displaced approximately one million people. Many families are still struggling to find and afford housing. Many more are worried about possible foreclosure on their homes or the expiration of rental assistance provided by the government, especially in areas where rents have skyrocketed since the storm. Some families are still contesting the decisions of insurance companies and government relief programs to deny housing assistance or aid to rebuild their properties. Others who are still living in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers while waiting for their homes to be rebuilt are facing local community ordinances demanding they move out because the trailers are seen as eyesores and magnets for crime. The rebuilding of demolished public housing units also lags far behind the demand for housing and is contributing to a rise in homelessness. It’s estimated that more than 250,000 housing units are still unfit for human habitation.

Many hospitals and clinics in the region remain closed including New Orleans’ only public hospital.

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