Mighty Mississippi

I was recently in Biloxi, Mississippi volunteering with the Mississippi Center for Justice. The center, along with offering many other services, acts as a legal liaison between the FEMA trailer residents and FEMA. During my time down there, my team and I helped interview clients, gathered information about their legal issues, compiled this information into various documents for the staff attorneys, and followed-up with certain clients about further assistance.

Before I came down to Mississippi, I assumed that the people hurt most by Hurricane Katrina were those who lost their house, car, and other belongings. After my first day of meeting and speaking with hurricane survivors in the FEMA trailers, I realized that the hardest hit were those who didn't have much in the first place. Such folks were those who, before the hurricane, were of low income, received disability benefits, social security benefits, subsidized/assisted housing, etc. These people have less economic mobility now than before Hurricane Katrina hit because what resources were once available to them through the government have now become scarce.

Many residents who want to seek employment cannot do so because they have no viable transportation- either they no longer have a car, or their trailer park is placed in a remote area that is too far from public transportation routes. There are also disabled residents who are either physically unable to seek employment, or in no condition to work.

Even if a resident has retained employment, it's quite difficult for her to leave the FEMA trailer because it's difficult to find housing. The average one bedroom apartment in Biloxi, MS used to rent for around $400. The exact same apartment is now priced around $800 because after Katrina, landlords and property managers doubled rental prices and deposit fees. While minimum wage has not budged, property has become expensive, scarce, and inaccessible.