00:00So you haven't heard about that water coming over that nevin from the lake?
00:03No, check it out.
00:04Because the water started rising so high in my two-story apartment I had to get out, man.
00:09August 29, 2005.
00:16The day that changed the city of New Orleans forever.
00:25We will do what it takes.
00:27We will stay as long as it takes.
00:30To help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives.
00:3420 years later, and the lower 9th ward known as Bacatown is still in recovery mode.
00:39After Hurricane Katrina ripped through Louisiana and the levees broke on the Industrial Canal.
00:45Leaving 80% of New Orleans underwater.
00:48Homes, streets, and lives washed away in minutes.
00:52What happened here was avoidable.
00:54It was human error.
00:56It was government error.
00:57It was the Army Corps of Engineers failing to create flood protection systems and maintain flood protection systems appropriately.
01:05And here we are.
01:06Before Katrina, more than 14,000 people called the lower 9th ward home.
01:11As of 2023, just over 5,000 remain, according to the data center.
01:16The same problem two decades ago.
01:25It's not about low income.
01:26It's not about rich people, poor people.
01:29It's about people.
01:30Is what Executive Director Laura Paul with the non-profit Lower9.org says residents still face today.
01:37Recovery can be painfully slow, and that has certainly been our experience here.
01:43So we have been trying very hard to get folks back into their homes and trying to get as many, what we call legacy residents of the lower 9th ward back into the neighborhood.
01:5420 years ago, the lower 9th ward's population was nearly 100% black, with more than 40% living below the poverty line.
02:03Back of town sits about 8 feet below sea level, making it one of the most flood-prone parts of New Orleans.
02:10Geographically, it covers nearly half the neighborhood, while areas where wealthier, predominantly white residents live are higher and safer.
02:18What we say in-house is disasters don't discriminate, but recoveries do.
02:23And that is 100% the truth.
02:27FEMA was tasked with leading disaster response after Katrina, providing emergency aid, temporary housing, and financial support for rebuilding.
02:35But delays, disorganization, and poor coordination left many residents, especially in low-income, predominantly black neighborhoods like the Lower 9th Ward, without timely help.
02:47After the devastation, Louisiana launched the Road Home Program to help residents rebuild.
02:52The program offered homeowners buyouts or funds to rebuild, but many found it difficult to access.
02:58Years later, courts ruled it discriminated against black homeowners, making it even harder for families in the Lower 9th to return.
03:07Paul estimates only 25% of the ward is rebuilt.
03:11There are huge swaths of empty lots that do not have residential structures on them that had residential structures on them prior to Katrina.
03:19And the great majority of those were owned by low-wealth black homeowners, which is an incredibly important distinction.
03:25We had one of the highest rates of black homeownership in the nation prior to Katrina.
03:30That's where the nonprofit Lower 9th steps in, filling the gaps left by federal programs.
03:35With donations and volunteers, they've rebuilt nearly 100 homes and fixed more than 400 others, giving legacy residents a chance to come home.
03:44We've gotten quite a lot of work done, and we're not planning on going anywhere, but we've done it on a shoestring budget for years and years.
03:53It's not just homes, it's businesses too.
03:56A handful of shops dot the Lower 9th Ward, a gas station, a dollar store, but the neighborhood's vibrant heart, once filled with movie theaters, hair salons, has yet to come back.
04:07Paul says quality of life is also still playing catch up.
04:10A few years ago, the life expectancy in this zip code was 24 years less than Uptip, which is an affluent and, you know, much wider section of the city.
04:24To mark the 20th anniversary, Lower9.org launched a campaign aiming to raise $1,000 from leaders in every state by September 30th.
04:33They're also calling on volunteers to help rebuild homes and support legacy residents in the Lower 9th Ward.
04:40It's how the city got back on its feet.
04:43It's church groups, it's school kids, it's individuals and groups giving of their time and their labor and their love and their energy and caring for folks here.
04:55And we still need people.
04:58It's not just about those homes.
05:00It's also about restoring a community, block by block, family by family.
05:04We are still very much engaged with that.
05:06I honestly don't see us running out of work anytime soon.
05:10For more in-depth reporting on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, head to san.com or the Straight Arrow News mobile app and search Katrina.
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