MSU College of Law Alternative Spring Break Final Report

Michigan State University College of Law

Law Students’ Alternative Spring Break

New Orleans, LA

Posting for Thursday, March 12, 2009

Posted By:  Professor Michele LaForest Halloran, Director of Clinical Programs and Director of the Tax Clinic, MSU College of Law

From a 1-L student:

It has been an amazing trip so far.  I have been at the St. Bernard’s Parish location, which borders the 9th ward.  It is wonderful to see how the community has come together to support each other throughout the long process of rebuilding after Katrina.  The St. Bernard’s Community Center offers many services for the resilient community of the parish, ranging from furnishing clothing to providing hot meals.  Some of the people who come in haven’t paid their taxes since Katrina, and it is an honor to be able to help them get caught up and back on track.  

What people do not realize is that this is the only parish/county in the United States to ever be declared 100% destroyed.  The people we have met thus far are just happy to know that people still care about them and continue to provide help.  They want to stress that although there is a lack of coverage by the press, the recovery effort is nowhere near complete, and in fact far from it.  There are still people living in FEMA trailers, and others have yet to return to their homes; however, the residents remain hopeful as they try to put their lives back together.

Michigan State University College of Law

Law Students’ Alternative Spring Break

New Orleans, LA

Posting for Friday, March 13, 2009

Posted By:  Professor Michele LaForest Halloran, Director of Clinical Programs and Director of the Tax Clinic, MSU College of Law

From a 1-L student:

Prior to ASB, if someone asked me what I knew about post-Katrina Louisiana, I would probably have said, "Oh, I'm not sure. I assume things are pretty much back to normal."  I think this is a typical response, considering the hurricane rushed through over three years ago.  If someone now asked me what I knew about post-Katrina Louisiana, I would say, "These people need our help more than ever.  Over three years have gone by and so much still needs to be done."  Yesterday we drove around the St. Bernard Parish and parts of the 9th Ward.  I was speechless.  We drove down blocks and blocks where I could picture these small homes sitting three feet above the ground and about 15 feet apart from each other.  I could imagine small gardens in front of these homes with neighborhood children playing in their front yards.  These images made me smile, but that's all they were, my imagination.  What was really there was a newly built home beside a home that was completely destroyed on one side and an empty lot on the other side.  Some homes are marked, "Do Not Destroy."  Other homes remain with the FEMA markings on them indicating date of entry and how many people were found inside, dead or alive.  There were so many empty lots with debris everywhere, and I wondered, "Where are these families now?  Are they living in a FEMA trailer?  Are they homeless?  Who are these people?"  

 

I now know who these people are.  Volunteering for the St. Bernard Parish Community Center allowed me to meet real victims of the storm, and all these people want is for someone to hear their stories.  As I filled out the returns for people, the silence was very awkward, so I would ask if they were originally from Louisiana.  The minute I sounded interested in their lives, and I was, most people took my question and ran with it.  I was amazed by the stories people were telling me.  Everyone who came in to get their taxes completed was impacted by the hurricane.  They either evacuated in time, or they were in their homes when the water came rushing in.  In either situation, everyone lost so much.  A man came in today who had not filed his taxes since 2003, but he lost all his information in the storm.  Now what?  These are the real problems people are facing in Louisiana.  Some still live in FEMA trailers.  Others are back in their homes.  When people brought in their mortgage interest statements for the year, I asked if the money was used to improve their homes, and the responses generated even more information about their Katrina experiences.  Others have started their own businesses, considering many local businesses never recovered after the storm, and the worst thing for me was having to tell these people that they owe the government money because of self-employment taxes.  These people have very little, and to have to tell them that THEY owe money was very hard for me. 

 

If I can sum up this entire experience, I would want to say that it's been life changing.  No one will ever know exactly what these people have felt and experienced because of Hurricane Katrina.  The only thing we all can do is try to understand and help.  I saw a spray painted sign that read, "Please Help Our Community."  That's what we need to do.