My mother isn't in St. Bernard, and at least part of her problems result from poor choices on her part. But it is a hopeless mess trying to get funding from the Road Home, talking to one person, coming close to getting somewhere, then getting transferred to someone else and having to start all over. She's out of funds, and I'm not feeling too confident of her having more than the bare minimum in her home. Frills like interior doors are a stretch.

The good things I've heard were mainly from an officemate who didn't fare too badly between insurance and Road Home money. There seems to be a *lot* of variation in Road Home disbursements. She's been able to rebuild, and she says that some of her neighbors are starting to coming home so she's feeling more optimistic.

But from what you say, it's not the same place to come home to. I can't tell you how sad that makes my heart feel. Because you guys were so geographically isolated by water particularly before the interstate (showing my age here), you always seemed to maintain that small town feel. Like so many other areas that the city grew out to meet. Of course, suburbia grows out to meet everyone, even with geographic isolation. It's such a shock to try to wrap my brain around crime and danger and Chalmette at the same time since it was such a close knit community.

The lack of infrastructure is hard to overcome, since you need infrastructure to bring people back, but no one wants to come back until the infrastructure is in place. I imagine it's as hard for the leaders to adjust to a new reality as it is for anyone else. Maybe even more difficult. From the outside, that's the main sense I'm getting. That leaders are trying desperately to get back what they used to have. I can understand your frustration and anger, and I share it. Even state services seem to vary a lot parish by parish.

I hate to be one of those people, but do you have any ability at all to get away from there to a healthier part of the region or even out of state? Your parish does seem to be particularly hard hit by everything. It takes a lot of effort to live with so much change and so little infrastructure, and it's bound to exacerbate any mental health issues.

I'll PM you. And I'll check with my therapist to see if he has any ideas.