The Maryland Law Katrina Project

Check out Radia's Pics

2008-01-17T14:36:00.001-08:00

Hey guys,
These are Radia's pics. They're fantastic!

Alicia

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=214935290/a=42826477_16743619/t_=42826477

Touring the FEMA Trailer

2008-01-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

Six of us initially traveled to tour the FEMA trailer, and when we pulled up to the site, we all questioned whether we could all fit into the trailer at one time. The average FEMA trailer is approximately 15ft. to 20ft. long, and maybe 7ft. to 8ft wide (at most, 160 square feet). Yet it is supposed to house up to six people and all of their possessions.

Despite the size, the Katrina victim we visited was extremely welcoming and quickly moved items from her kitchen/dining/sleeping area in order to make room. We all tripped over the dog’s food and water because the only floor space available for them was right in-front of the entryway. When I first walked into the trailer, the first thing I noticed was the smell. It was the same sickly-sweet air freshener used in airplanes. When the trailer becomes too hot or too cold, and the resident turns on the air/heat, the fan is so loud that it immediately drowns out any conversation that is below the level of shouting. The fan is so strong and the trailer so small that the temperature suddenly shifts drastically in the opposite direction, so the trailer is rarely at a comfortable medium.

Immediately to the right of the front door is the “main bedroom,” which is the size of the double bed that it contains and is separated from the main room by a sliding door. On the “far” wall, directly in front of the front door is a sofa/bed meant to sleep 1 person. This sofa/bed is next to the kitchen sink and cabinets, which are directly across from the table and booths which also convert into another bed. The booth is right next to the refrigerator, which shares a wall with the bunk area, which sleeps two. The bunk area resembles shelves rather than sleeping quarters. There is a small opening for the residents to climb into the beds, and no ladder to the top bunk. The bunks share a wall with the single bathroom, and therefore, half of the bunks are completely closed off. This means a coffin-like atmosphere for anyone who is claustrophobic. The bathroom is triangular to save space, with the tub almost on top of the toilet and no room for anyone who is over 6 ft to sit down and actually close the door. The bathroom sink is located outside the bathroom, next to the kitchen sink. The isle between the kitchen sink and the dining table on the other side is no more than 2.5 ft wide, making it almost impossible to pass around someone working at the sink. Here ends the 360 degree tour of the trailer.

Moving around the trailer was an eye-opening experience. The woman we visited was extremely welcoming and kind to us, despite having her hopes dashed on several occasions. She had been promised a way out of the trailer numerous times, and each time the floor fell through. Yet she still made the best of her circumstances, a true model of the resilience of Mississippi Katrina victims.

Pre-Katrina Photos on Biloxi's Gulf Coast

2008-01-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos I took while passing through Biloxi, pre-hurricane Katrina. These photos were taken in the first week of August 2005, one month before the storm. The last one is a shot of the Sharkheads Souvenir Shop, which, as you can see from the photo posted lower down in the blog, was all but completely destroyed by the storm. Additionally, for those who were on the Biloxi trip, I believe the ship in the pics below may be the floating casino that Anne (or Angela) said ended up across the highway. Neither the ship, nor the building next to it are there anymore.

2008-01-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

Taking a break to enjoy lunch at the beach.

Erin is relaxing and inspecting the pier.

Radiance, Christine, and Erin chatting over lunch.

Relaxing in the sun.

One of the many ripped apart buildings left on the Gulf coast.

And one of the many vacant lots.

This is how most of the beach looks now.

Miss Virginia's FEMA trailer and her old house.

Ana and Jenny cleaning the last of the dishes.

Duty and Christine spent two days working on getting Miss Virginia settled in her new house.

The whole group with Miss Virginia

Melissa and some of the many dishes we cleaned Katrina mud off of.

Radiance is a pro at hanging curtains.

Veronica is really excited to put away dishes!

The final stages of getting Miss Virginia settled.

The Civil Law & Building Trips

Ana & Erin in New Orleans

The Building Trip after breakfast in New Orleans.

Biloxi, Day 4

2008-01-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

Today may have been the most memorable day for our group thus far. The day began at the Mississippi Center for Justice office in Biloxi. After settling into the MCJ's "new" office, located in a portable trailer behind their main facility, we ate the most delicious potato doughnuts and received training for the clinic we would be participating in at 4 pm. The training was comprised of both a training DVD, put together by the MCJ, and a discussion led by Crystal Utley from the MCJ. In addition to learning about the major issues confronting the region, our training also emphasized the importance of letting the clients tell their story. While the primary goal of the clinic was to help connect individuals with Katrina related legal needs with an attorney or advocate, the clinics also helped to meet some of the therapeutic needs of the clients as well. We were able to witness first-hand how having someone to listen, someone who cared and wanted to help, gave the Katrina survivors great hope and optimism that things would get better. While were we not able to change the survivors situations, we allowed them to see a light at the end of the tunnel. For many the tunnel will be long, but just having someone willing to listen and start the process of legal assistance let our clients know that the future promised hope.

The clinic began at 4 pm at a Church rec room in Moss Point, MS. Clients began arriving promptly at 4. 1st year law students were paired with 2nd and 3rd year students, while the attorneys were on hand for issues that came up during the intake process. The primary goal of the clinic was to fill out client intake forms and identify the clients legal need's so the MCJ would be able to understand the issues and match the clients with an MCJ attorney or a national pro bono partner. As clients came in, they were matched with pairs of law students who listened to their legal problems and filled out client intake paperwork. Law students listened to problems clients were having with their FEMA trailers, trailer park closings, the Mississippi Development Authority’s "Homeowner Grants", contractor fraud, mortgage foreclosures, and rebuilding issues. While some of the problems were limited to one issue or another, others were complex and were comprised of all of issues we learned about in the MCJ training. Although many of the clients sought help on very tough situations (emotionally as well as legally), many of us law students were both surprised and inspired by both the optimism the clients had for the future and appreciation the clients felt for being alive and what they did have. This experience opened many of our eyes to the real life experiences of Katrina survivors. While we learned a great deal about the region and the aftermath of the hurricane, I think we also learned a lot about humanity and how lucky we all are to have all that we do.

Pics from the Building Trip Crew in Biloxi

2008-01-14T15:01:00.001-08:00

The gang eats lunch on the pier on our first day of work

Bowling on the second night!

Fun times in our van

Building bunk beds for our Retreat Center on Day 3

Done for the day!

It was a special treat to get to spend our last morning in New Orleans

Tired from our awesome trip!

Naz says: Rebuilding trip rocks!

"The Baton Rouge 10" - Monday Jan 7

2008-01-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

In the Baton Rouge criminal justice system, excessive bail for a minor crime is considered especially heinous. In New Orleans for the week, the dedicated law students who interview these inmates and advocate for bail reductions are members of an elite squad known as "The Baton Rouge 10." These are their stories...

Monday Jan 7:
After completing the hour and a half commute from New Orleans, our group of eight 1Ls, one 2L and Prf Colbert arrived in Baton Rouge where the Director of the Public Defender’s office immediately greeted us and showed us to a small conference room that would be our base of operations for the week. He introduced us to the lead attorney and the investigators who would be our colleagues, and they began to explain how we could assist their heavily overloaded docket. Our plan was to go to the local prison after lunch and immediately begin to interview inmates.

For the next few hours we each looked over our notes from the training courses and listening to tips from the investigators and Prf Colbert. Basically our group of 1Ls got a crash course in how to interview a wide range of incarcerated individuals and how exactly to get the necessary information out of them.

As we drove over to the prison our car was eerily quiet as we each contemplated how this experience would play out. Upon arrival at the prison gates we had to each leave IDs with the guards and were only allowed to bring in a legal pad and pen and as the thick fence laced with barb wire slid open all of a sudden the experience got much more real.

Our group of soon-to-be lawyers walked toward the main building and the experience had the feeling of a movie where the main character walks into a climactic situation with a dramatic film score in the background. Although we had no such music, we did have the enthusiasm for a new situation that only law students can exude.

The inside of the prison had a little less security then I expected as eight inmates were guided to the cafeteria without handcuffs and calmly sat against the wall for Pfr Colbert to address them. While this was strange for a moment, I reminded myself that NONE of these individuals had been convicted of a crime and most in were for non-violent offenses and simply could not afford the bail. Our system can seem to favor the rich in so many situations because they have the means to post bond and rejoin their families and jobs after getting in a little trouble, but all of these people could not afford the (usually obscenely) high bail and therefore would sit in jail for 45-60 days before the District Attorney had to even decide to prosecute them or not (this is usually called DA’s time). To tell you the truth, I'm still not sure of the rationale of a system that holds (poor) people in prison for extended periods of time waiting to the DA to “get around” to your case.

Today I interviewed two men who had been in prison since late May (not officially charged by the DA until July) who could not afford their bail. As I began the interview I tried to remember as much of our training as I could and Prf Colbert and our 3L supervisor Anna Deady were amazing resources for questions and support throughout the entire process. Our goal was to get as much information from them to start a file in the PD's office with vital information such a family in the area, residence, employment, and education. This information could be used to argue in front of a judge that the bail should be reduced to an affordable level because the person was a good candidate to return to court for trial and was not a danger to the community.

As a 1L with minimal knowledge of the bail system sometimes I had trouble answering the common questions of my friends and family: Why are you doing the work you are doing? Why should people’s bail be reduced? Well for one thing the right to bail that is not excessive is guaranteed by the 8^th Amendment. Thus, those charged with a crime have a constitutional right to pre-trial release upon certain circumstances. But the specific conditions of release and the bond the court requires to ensure your return is a large point of controversy in the legal community.

In total, this trip was truly amazing because it brought my head out of the theories and hypos of our legal tomes and showed us how the system actually affects people’s lives. There is more that should go into considering someone's bail then simply the nature of their crime. An important aspect is the risk that the individual will flee the community and not return for trial. This risk is determined by factors such as a supportive family in the area, a place to live, a job to go back to (or educational level to get another job), and children to support. Also we studied the individuals record of appearing for past trials as someone who never missed a court date could make a compelling argument to not miss one in the future. Other things taken in consideration is the individual’s threat to commit future crimes which can be determined from his or her criminal record.

When we left the prison at 4:30 our day was injected with a newfound sense of purpose as we knew that much work lay ahead. That evening we proceeded to make telephone calls to the family members and employers the inmates gave us to verify the information and wrote it all up in a form that would be best for the PD's office. There are some amazing tales of student interaction with family members but I will leave that up to them to tell you. Our first day offered only a preview of the challenges to come and it was a great start to a great week.

Next post... Convincing family members to come to court (while they never speak to anyone but a law student) and later, a venture into the judge's lair to advocate for our inmates.

All new episodes of the Baton Rouge 10 coming soon...

Link to Katrina Project Video

2008-01-13T19:18:00.000-08:00

http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=M&link=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.umaryland.edu%3A8080%2Framgen%2Foea%2Fkatrina2008video.rm

Fun Pics-Mississippi

2008-01-13T10:29:00.001-08:00

Group at Hard Rock Cafe

Jess Trinh, 2L and Penny with Korean dinner they made for the group.

Alicia Welch, 3L and Dr. Sybil

Ms. A, Dora, Alicia, & Caroline

Alicia with Building Trip volunteers at Hard Rock

Group likely debating something

Pics at Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ)

2008-01-13T10:14:00.001-08:00

Group at MCJ

Group at MCJ 2

Desiree Amador, 1L & Joey Chen, 1L

Jess Marks, 1L

John Archibald, 1L

Jess Marks, 1L

Lori Churchyard, 1L and Riley, MCJ attorney

Rochelle Watson, 2L

Lori Churchyard, 1L and Kim Stefanski, 1L

Chris Dahl, 1L and Sarah Liebschutz, 1L

Pics of FEMA Trailers (Interior and Exterior)

2008-01-13T09:59:00.001-08:00

Mold in FEMA trailer

ADA Compliant FEMA trailer

Regular FEMA trailer

Bathroom/closet in ADA FEMA trailer

"Bedroom" in regular FEMA trailer

2nd "bedroom" in FEMA trailer (this is the whole thing!)

Length and width of FEMA trailer

Kitchen in FEMA trailer

Mississippi Gulf Coast-Land of Contrasts

2008-01-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

From the moment we arrived in Biloxi, I noticed the contrasts. From the multi-million dollar fighter jets flying over neighborhoods (from the local airforce base) still rampant with FEMA trailers and damaged homes to the abandoned houses in the shadow of the Las Vegas-style Beau Rivage casino, I was struck by the level of destruction that still remains over 17 months since Hurricane Katrina. While New Orleans was flooded as a result of the levees that broke, the eye of the storm actually passed through Pearlington, a rural area about an hour from Biloxi. Many of the folks I encountered on the streets during our survey of two neighborhoods in Biloxi and our legal clinic expressed their frustration that New Orleans had received all of the attention, while Mississippi was neglected when that was where the hurricane had actually hit. I have witnessed the destruction in both states and I think both deserve all of the attention of our nation to this day.

I think the most evident contrast I witnessed was the amazingly positive attitude of folks still going through terrible times as compared with the attitudes of those I encounter in my everyday life where every little thing seems to be a big deal. For example, we met a 73 year old woman and her 43 year old daughter at the house we were staying in whom had been invited over for dinner by the great lady who owned our house. Mrs. J and Ms. A had been living in 2 FEMA trailers along with Mr. J, and Ms. A's two daughters since the storm destroyed their homes. Mrs. J's husband is disabled and they were not able to get an ADA-compliant trailer until 1 year after the storm. Ms. A is a 5th grade teacher who was living in a "regular" FEMA trailer with her 2 daughters and their dog. They were kind enough to invite us over and I was absolutely shocked by the size of these trailers. They were TINY! Each had 1 "bedroom" which was essentially 4 walls with a bed and the other "bedroom" was 2 shelves with a curtain in front of it and people were expected to sleep on these shelves with mattresses on them. Ms. A's 11-year-old daughter could not even fit in there. Yet, these folks were so welcoming to us and had such positive attitudes that I began to reflect on the little things in my life that I let bother me and realize how silly I have been.

I mentioned their situation to one of the attorneys were were working with and she advised me to do an intake with Ms. A in order to help her get a MEMA cottage. A MEMA (Mississippi Emergency Management) cottage is a house without a foundation (on cinder blocks). You can qualify for this if you have a plot of land to put the cottage on. In addition, you have to have this land in an area that has not passed an ordinance banning MEMA cottages, which is now becoming more prevelant. Ms. A had such a spot because she owned her house that was destroyed in the storm. Her town, Pass Christian, does not have an ordinance banning the cottages. In addition, her family owned the land she had her FEMA trailer on. I did the intake and hopefully the attorney can help her cut through the red tape. She had been waiting for MEMA to call her since the storm, but never received any information from them until 12.28.07!

Reflecting on Ms. A's situation also reminds me of 2 additional contrasts. First, Ms. A lived just a street away from the house we stayed in, a beautiful 17-bedroom home run by a bishop and a woman with a doctorate in religious studies. Surrounding this home are also large homes built by folks who had received large insurance settlements after the storm. Ms. A received an insurance settlement and another grant from the state, but this money was only enough to pay off her mortgage on her destroyed home, not enough to rebuild. Finally, Mrs. J and her husband are now having their home rebuilt by a church located in Georgia. Their home will be finished in 3 months. Without the help of faith-based organizations, so much of the work in the Gulf Coast would not be done. As such, I guess the final contrast is that between the government and faith-based organizations and what each can accomplish.

Alicia Welch, 3L

Leaving the Gulf Coast

2008-01-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we began our departure from the Gulf Coast by getting up early to drive an hour from Pass Christian in Mississippi to New Orleans, where we would be flying out of to head back home to Baltimore. Once we managed to stuff all of our luggage into our vehicles using some of our Tetris playing skills, we thanked our generous hosts at Antioch House for providing a safe and warm place to stay throughout the week, and they sent us off with best wishes for a safe trip home and success in all of our future endeavors. As we made our way into New Orleans, we took the opportunity to make one more important stop before heading to the airport -- the Lower Ninth Ward. We parked our cars and started to walk through the neighborhood leading to the Lower Ninth Ward. We walked along quiet streets lined with structural frames of houses whose interiors were still completely gutted and stripped of remnants of a home where families once lived and shared memories. Most of the properties seemed abandoned, however, here and there we saw some individuals outside their houses attempting to repair and rebuild their homes. All houses still bore spray paint like brands that the rescuers after the storm made to indicate whether or not there were people or pets alive inside. Finally, we arrived at a the Lower Ninth Ward. It was easy to distinguish from the previous neighborhood because here there were no structures standing at all -- at most there were the remnants of a concrete stairway that used to lead into a house where now there was just grass, or one mangled piece of an iron gate that now guards an empty lot. It was hard to believe the storm was two and half years ago because it seems like this area had just been hit. We then got to an area full of pink tents (part of Brad Pitt's project), which indicated where houses once stood. We spoke to a gentleman starting to rebuild his mother's home who explained that rebuilding in the ninth ward would be happening soon thanks to Brad Pitt's project. Another gentleman living in a trailer where his house once stood explained to us his efforts to get more people to come back home to the ninth ward because rebuilding would be occurring, although so many people have been told otherwise to keep them from returning. This gentleman had lost his mother and 3 yr old granddaughter during the storm, indicated by a memorial outside his trailer. As we walked back to our cars to head to the airport, I looked around at the destitute land of pink tents hoping that soon those pink tents would be replaced with homes and families and that this would be a new beginning for the lower ninth ward.

Biloxi - Day 5

2008-01-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

Today was our last full day in Biloxi, MS, and a productive one at that. For some of us, it meant tying up loose ends and finishing the projects we had begun on Wednesday. We began our week conducting surveys in the communities of Soria City and the Quarters, assessing the exterior conditions of homes affected by the storm. While the majority of the group continued working in the Quarters on Wednesday, several of us headed over to the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) to help the attorneys there. I was part of a group of four students who worked on a project to analyze grant data compiled from previous surveys of households in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties. The object was to determine whether a correlation could be drawn between specific factors, such as income, race or age, and the awareness, participation, and outcome of Mississippi homeowner’s grant programs, through FEMA, the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), etc. We analyzed responses from over 880 respondents and wrote a summary report discussing our findings. Our supervising senior attorney, John Jopling, may use these results to address the disparity of grant awareness and participation among households in these regions.

As expected of Maryland law students, we finished strong. At one point, one senior staff attorney said that this week, their office looked like a full size firm. What a complement! As I listened to other students describe their various experiences today, it became clear to me that this trip impacted us just as much as our presence here helped the community and her servants.

Diary in Pictures

2008-01-09T12:33:00.001-08:00

lunch at the office

dinner after work

and then having fun ...

2008-01-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

The students and I have been having incredibly full days since arriving and beginning work Monday morning. Each day, bright and early (I mean early!), we travel from New Orleans to Baton RougeBaton Rouge Public Defender. IN a typical day, we awake at 5:30 to 6 a.m., get dressed (some of us take a quick jog), have breakfast at our lovely guest house and leave by 7 a.m. (7:30 at the latest). Baton Rouge is a 90 minute drive and sometimes longer when there is traffic. On Monday we had a terrific morning meeting with the Chief Defender and his staff. They really need help here and provided an excellent overview of the court system and procedures. We are focusing on the pretrial population and the many people charged with non-violent, minor crimes who cannot afford bail and who have not seen a lawyer since the day of their arrest. Louisiana prosecutors can detain an arrestee for 45 days for a misdemeanor, and 60 days for a felony, before deciding WHETHER OR NOT to file a formal charge. The people the students are interviewing would not usually see a lawyer until AFTER the District Attorney decides to prosecute. Consequently, the defendants were very happy to see us and to speak to a law student. where we have been asisting the

The students have been doing a fabulous job. I mean FABULOUS. I sometimes cannot believe that these eight students have just completed their first semester of law school. They are so good and so committed to helping and serving their clients and to assisting the beleaguered public defender staff. One public defender whom we are working has a caseload of - - - -850 cases!!!! Anne Deady has been doing great work as a supervisor and has helped the students adjust to assuming the role of a quasi Rule 16 student attorney. After we left the Pd's office, we traveled the half hour to the Parish Prison where students entered and interviewed two clients each. Anne and I supervised. Students quickly developed a very fine attorney client relationship and obtained the necessary information for investigation purposes and for preparing a persuasive courtroom argument. The prison is a huge complex and contains many buildings. We traveled to three different jails where students conducted interviews. Interviewing stops at 4 p.m. when we are told we must leave. We return to New Orleans by 6:30, grab a quick bite to eat and return by 7 to hear one of Louisiana's truly courageous lawyers, Phyllis Mann, speak to us about the work she and her colleagues did post-Katrina when they traveled around the state and interviewed more than 6,000 of the prisoners transferred from New Orleans. We must invite Phyllis to the law school!

After she speaks, students work past midnight, making phone calls to families, writing memo's to the public defenders and preparing courtroom arguments. I know we cannot continue this pace every day but what a great first day!

Tuesday morning, we meet for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and travel to Baton Rouge. We do work at the PD's office and then drive to the prison. It is amazing to see how much the students have grown in one day. They enter the prison feeling much more comfortable. They speak to clients with far more confidence and knowledge. They are fully engaged in getting the information and preparing for a bail review hearing. I feel so fortunate to be part of this experience. We are working together and speaking to people who otherwise would not see a lawyer for a month or two. Students are showing enormous concern and care for assuming the role of a professional. It is all good!

Today, Wednesday, we return to the PD where students are getting ready for courtroom argument. Tomorrow, we will spend the day at the Prison and interview about 30 more detainees. Friday, students and the PD will present arguments in court. I promise I will write more as soon as I find time. There has not been too much downtime yet. Students in the other groups seem to be having a very positive learning experience, too. We are getting together tonight to listen to one of Katrina's prisoners who was there when the waters rose in the Orleans Parish jail.

We have a very special group of students who have volunteered. More to follow. Take care, Doug.

The BALTIMORE SUN about The Maryland Katrina & Indigent Defense Project

2008-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

UM law students to aid victims of Katrina, By Matthew Dolan

"In the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi where Hurricane Katrina roared through more than two years ago, frustrated homeowners still struggle.

Their plight is again attracting the attention of the University of Maryland School of Law. Nearly 80 law students plan to forgo part of their winter vacation next month and chip in on a variety of legal matters affecting hurricane survivors in Louisiana and Mississippi."

more ...

The DAILY RECORD about The Maryland Katrina & Indigent Defense Project

2008-01-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

Law students confront Katrina’s lasting legacy, by LIZ FARMER

"The Gulf Coast region devastated by Hurricane Katrina more than two years ago may look physically better today, but for more than 80 University of Maryland School of Law students, repairing that part of the country is an inside job . . . "

Biloxi, Day 2

2008-01-08T22:11:00.000-08:00

Today we continued our work in Soria City. Having discarded our ties, heels, and slacks in favor of blue jeans and comfy sneakers, we were prepared for a day of recording architectural details and taking photos. By 9:45 a.m., my partner and I approached our assigned block. Whereas yesterday I was struck by the unfamiliar architectural styles and the remaining evidence of hurricane damage, today I noticed life everywhere from the potted palm trees on a porch to the gray kitten scampering about an abandoned lot. We had not completed our first survey sheet before a neighbor walked over to ask us about the project. Like most of the people we encountered, he was interested in the surveys, but did not elaborate on his Katrina experience. Surrounded by broken windows, tarped roofs, and debris, we discussed local casinos, football, and possible neighborhood improvements. By lunchtime I had my first January sunburn, and by the end of the day we had finished surveying every lot on our block. Before leaving Soria City, I snapped a final photo of the streets, not to document the destruction, but because I wanted to remember the unique architecture and the friendly people we met. Tomorrow, the Quarters.

Biloxi, Day 1

2008-01-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

Today was our first day working with the Mississippi Center for Justice in Biloxi. We caravaned from Pass Christian and met the staff at MCJ headquarters for orientation at 9am. I was surprised at the number of volunteers helping at the MCJ this week. In addition to our 22 volunteers, there was a group from the University of Texas and a few law students from Columbia. Our first project for this week is a community surveying project designed by masters students at NYU's public service school. For this project, we are walking around two historic neighborhoods in Gulfport, Soria City and The Quarters, in order to assess the need for federal funding in the area and to get a sense of the historic value of the neighborhoods. On the drive to Biloxi in the morning and the drive to Soria City in the afternoon, it was sobering to realize that in some ways, little has changed since the days immediately following Katrina. While pristine new casinos have sprouted up along the coast, there are still structures that lay in complete ruin and piles of rubble along the highway. One MCJ attorney told us that the route we were driving down used to be a densely populated commercial area. It's hard to believe seeing it now - with only some chain establishments popping up along the highway.

After a few hiccups in our transportation situation, we started began walking around Soria City in the late afternoon. We had to observe property damage, take notes on the architectural style of the buildings on the property and note any other potentially unique or historic characteristics of the property. My partner and I began our surveying property along a road paralleling railroad tracks that separated Soria City from a wealthier area of Gulfport. The contrast in the reconstruction of the two areas was striking. Most of the houses on the south side of the tracks had been repaired or rebuilt, while there are still houses and churches in Soria City that look like they haven't been touched since the storm. Some have been abandoned and some are missing their roofs and windows completely. As we walked around, we ran into a few residents of the neighborhood. Most were friendly and waved as we walked by. One resident stopped to ask if we were doing the survey, and was more than happy to let us observe her property. I'm sure we were provoking curiosity walking around with clipboards in our business clothes. We'll see how things go tomorrow when we get to walk around in our civies...