Tracy Flores believes so strongly about the power of family, heritage and neighborhood pride that she is the first on her block to rebuild and restore her home in the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. (Mark Boster / LAT)
Rosemary Coldman holds a portrait of her partner, Lee Norman near the spot where he was found in the attic of their home in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans 7-months after Katrina. (Mark Boster / LAT)
Many of the homes in the New Orleans Lower 9th Ward were wiped off of their foundations by Hurricane Katrina leaving only front steps and porch. (Mark Boster / LAT)
Eighteen-months after Hurricane Katrina military police still patrol the streets of the Lower 9th Ward. (Mark Boster / LAT)
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Handmade street signs mark the corner Rocheblave and Dubreuil Streets in the Lower 9th ward. (Mark Boster / LAT)
EMPTY BLOCKS: New Orleans city officials stopped people from officially returning to their homes in the Lower 9th Ward for three months after Katrina, and even then they couldnt stay. Residents have fought to get utilities turned back on, and volunteers have helped rebuild. (Mark Boster / LAT)
GOING BACK HOME: Tanya Harris, a community organizer with ACORN, is in the middle of repairing her home. Her sister Tracy Flores moved back in with her children in December theyre the first family on their block. (Mark Boster / LAT)
Newly rebuilt homes belonging to Josephine Butler and her neighbor Gwendolyn Guice stand as shining examples in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans where residents are starting to rebuild and move back in. (Mark Boster / LAT)
