When Fannie first returned home after Hurricane Katrina, she says she couldn't believe her eyes. "I knew it would be bad, but I wasn't prepared for it. I didn't recognize anything; it was unrecognizable."
Fannie shows Nate her unfinished house, which used to be a place where 15 to 20 people could gather at any given time. "We always had big dinners," Fannie says. "We all just sit around and catch up. We can't do that anymore."
The high cost of construction in New Orleans has left Fannie with an unlivable space because Nate says many people were given loans at pre-Katrina costs. "So apparently, except for the big retailers down there, to buy a little plastic light switch that in Chicago would cost $1.99, it costs $12 in New Orleans," Nate says. "That's why she was living in a trailer for all these months. She couldn't afford to finish her house."
Published 09/22/2008
