Jason Jones, a 56-year-old ex-con, supplements his living by scavenging the streets of New Orleans. He has no home, no wife, no children, and no teeth. I spent a recent Sunday following him through his city's blighted housing projects. Six years after Hurricane Katrina, the ruins remain nearly untouched in many places. And without more federal funding, the cleanup effort is unlikely to move forward anytime soon.
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Julie Dermansky is a multimedia reporter and artist based in New Orleans. She is an affiliate scholar at Rutgers University's Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights. Visit her website at www.jsdart.com.