I am a third-year student at the University of Chicago Law School and I will be starting as an associate in Mayer Brown's Washington office this fall. Thanks to the generous support of Mayer Brown, I was able to spend my spring break this year volunteering with the Katrina Recovery Office of the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ). The MCJ is the only statewide, nonprofit public-interest law firm in Mississippi, and its Katrina Recovery Office was established in 2005 to respond to the massive housing-related legal needs created by Hurricane Katrina. The goals of the Katrina Recovery Office include providing legal aid to low-income survivors of the Hurricane, as well as advocating at all levels-local, county, and state-for the sustaining or rebuilding of low-income neighborhoods on the Gulf Coast.

Two and a half years after the hurricane, housing-related legal issues, which disproportionately affect low-income individuals, show no sign of abating on the Gulf Coast. Conducting intake at the MCJ's Katrina Legal Aid Clinic, I met with and interviewed dozens of Katrina survivors, each suffering a range of housing issues. The most common claims I heard related to contractor fraud, difficulties obtaining FEMA benefits, and disputes over insurance coverage. My role was to listen to these claims, discern the legal issues, and work with MCJ attorneys to prescribe a course of action.

I was particularly moved by the stories of contractor fraud: that Katrina victims were being victimized a second time, in such sweeping numbers, struck me as outrageous. All too common were stories of contractors charging  exorbitant fees and then vanishing before completing repairs. By using cheap, inadequate materials, some contractors even caused further damage to the houses they had been hired to repair. Time and again, these clinic attendees described having to expend more money to finish the repair job, dipping into- and sometimes depleting-their life's savings, and thus enduring even more waves of Katrina-related stress.

In addition to my work in the Clinic, I assisted the MCJ in community planning efforts in the historically significant African-American neighborhood of Turkey Creek. Turkey Creek was founded by freed slaves in 1866. The MCJ, together with a coalition of non-profit organizations, is helping the community to preserve its historic homes and landmarks, to rebuild after Katrina, to obtain improved city services, and to conserve wetlands in the community. One part of this effort is advocating for the development of affordable infill housing in Turkey Creek that is mindful of the needs of the community's residents. To assist, I helped create a comprehensive action plan for identifying the affected residents and surveying the property of Turkey Creek. The purpose of the plan was to locate all of the homes requiring repair, identify the historic homes worthy of preservation, and ascertain appropriate sites for new infill home construction. My efforts included researching the community's geography, creating surveys, editing a handbook for future volunteers, and conducting field work that included surveying property parcels in Turkey Creek.

To say that my trip to the Gulf Coast and my work with the MCJ was eye-opening would be an understatement. In witnessing, first-hand, the destruction wrought by Katrina and the glacial pace of rebuilding, and in speaking with survivors about the traumas they continue to endure, I was aggressively confronted with the fact that the need for legal assistance in the Gulf Coast far outweighs its current supply. Nevertheless, I am heartened by the MCJ's outreach efforts and its vigorous representation, and utter commitment, to the underserved communities on the Gulf Coast. And I am glad that I could contribute to their efforts.