Katrina’s Jewish Voices

This is a photo of girls with dresses they've chosen from the Cinderella Initiative, a project of the United Jewish Communities (UJC). The organization gathered hundreds of prom gowns, graduation dresses, tuxedos, suits, and accessories to donate to high school teens in the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Louisiana.

This photograph of Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village was taken by Paula Picker in December of 2006. These houses are new, built after Katrina to house the newly homeless musicians of New Orleans to prevent them from leaving the city because of lack of housing.

This photograph, taken by Paula Picker in November 2005, shows the living room of the house where Paula's parents, whose last name is Teles, lived for 10 years. Her parents were married for almost 69 years. The upholstered chairs and sofa in the living room were upholstered by her mom right after they got married. There had been 5 feet of water in the one-story home, and there was mold everywhere. Pretty much everything was ruined or turned to "pulp". Family photographs were still hanging on...

This photograph of a Teddy Bear in muddy water was taken in the 9th Ward on a trip to New Orleans in Spring 2006.

This photograph shows Ilana Hurwitz in the Lower 9th Ward. Ilana is an attorney who went to New Orleans in the summer of 2006 to volunteer at the Common Ground Collective's Legal Clinic.