I recently returned from a 11 day assignment to New Orleans as a Disaster Mental Health Professional. I was struck my the enormity of the destruction and the lack of services that still remain. Many areas of the city are still without gas and/or electricity. There is a desperate need for adequate housing for those that are encouraged to return only to find thier homes destroyed or unsafe to live in. Despite this, I am struck by the perserverance of the people that I came into contact with. Their determinination to preval is truly inspiring.

I wish that there were more news stories and images from the Lower 9th Ward. Many people, including former residents of that area, are not aware just how devestated that area is and it comes to quite a surprise when they see it for the first time. It is important that people are more aware of what happened in this area so people can be better prepared for what they may expereince when they see it for the first time.

It is completely unconscionable that we pour billions and billions into rebuilding Iraq while we let one of our own fifty states collapse. What's more patriotic than helping our own? If the next time you pledge allegiance to the flag you notice that one of the stars is rather dim, it's Louisiana's.

I visited New Orleans two weekends ago to pick up a friend flying in from NYC. Seeing huge sections of the city dead was particularly disturbing. Wal-Marts, Winn-Dixie's, car lots, fast food joints, and once busy residential areas virtually deserted made me feel as if I were in a Stephen King novel. At the airport, my friends and I were somewhat disheartened to discover that the Louis Armstrong 'International' airport had only six flights going out and coming into the city. Perhaps what was most disturbing was our last stop in the city--the French Quarter. Yes, the lights were on and people were there, but they weren't the people of New Orleans. The entire aesthetic was off. As we left the town we once knew and revelled in, we hit I-10 at 8:00 pm to find that the street lamps along the interstate were dead. For about five miles, we were the only car driving through the CBD in downtown New Orleans--THAT JUST NEVER USED TO HAPPEN!!! We cried as we left the Big Easy, feeling the darkness threaten to engulf us as we made our way to the 'span' that was once the 'twin-span.' God bless New Orleans, because I'm afraid of what might happen to this place I've known since I was a child.

As a former resident of New Orleans who has mostly witnessed the events from a distance but has recently visited the city, I think the media is doing the city and its people a tremendous diservice by portraying the city as a ghost town. Granted parts are, but the suburbs, west bank, uptown, quarter, etc... are all doing pretty well. There is a lot of life there, a lot of jobs and lots of cause for optimism. Granted not perfect, but much better than the descriptions I hear from supporters. Even in some parts of the city (e.g. Broadmoor) that sustained very significant flooding, one can see signs of people returning and working to fix up their houses. I understand the reluctance to painting a rosy picture but right now some optimism and confidence about the future of the city is a desparate need in order to rebuild. I sensed some of that optimism and confidence being in the city, but you wouldn't get any of it from reports in the national media. Report the good news for once, it really means something this time.

A true test of humanity will be the unsung individuals who make the real efforts to restore your city. Your government has failled it's citizens miserablly. It's become the laughing stock of the world.

I just spent a week in New Orleans and it was far worse than what I imagined. After two months, the city is really just starting a clean up phase that could extend for a year or more. I can't imagine any rebuilding starting until six or eight months have passed. There are very few residents in the city and almost no tourists.

I am an attorney working in One Shell Square on Poydras Street in New Orleans overlooking New Orleans proper from a 47th floor vantagepoint. The city IS alive and we are returning in vast waves. Every day more law firms, businesses, and restaurants are re-opening in the Central Business District, Metairie, Harahan, and Kenner. This is a fabulous opportunity for virtually anyone to find work - a place to live may be a more difficlt venture.

New Orleans East, the Ninth Ward, Earhart, and several areas are dead - ghost towns - more than eerie at night with no lights, no sounds, no movement. But should you travel into these areas, you will be immediately pulled over by patrols and threatened with arrest. And yes, even the hopping Quarter has half of its street occupants wearing firearms and the authority to use them should the circumstance warrant. And after curfew, the streets of even the Quarter turn into a third world nation with camouflaged soldiers, HUMV's, and locked and loaded M-16s.

Nevertheless, we are home, and we will bring our city back to life. Know this: We who return have done so because we love our city and our way of life here - and we WILL get them both back. We welcome newcomers - but love us or leave - we don't need any more negativity. Your new neighbors WILL need your help, physically and emotionally.

The teachers of Louisiana are very worried about the state's ability to continue financing education. Our education system has not been requarded as well funded in the past and not post Katrina we are starting to hear rummors. School boards across the state are telling teachers to prepair for serious budget cuts--including salaries and benefits.

The media has to stay on top of the situation and report how long it is taking to get New Orleans back to normal because when there is nothing on the news people quickly forget and think that everything is just fine. The media has a responsibility to show how the Bush Administration is failing, failing, failing. Keep reporters down there and keep giving time to the subject and to Mississippi and Florida. There is not enough emphasis on the effects of the disasters and how slowly our government reacts and just how important the people of this country are.