Survivor Stories, Karen and Annie
Karen and Annie are niece and aunt, respectively. They fled their homes before Hurricane Katrina hit and were sheltered in the Superdome with thousands of others. As soon as they could, they boarded one
of the buses leaving New Orleans. They ended up in Dallas along with Karen’s brother and another family friend.
They were sheltered at the Dallas Convention Center for several days and are grateful now to have their own home in Little Mexico, a community on the outskirts of downtown Dallas. They have no beds
and no chairs yet, but they don’t complain. They’re happy to have food and clean clothes. They also have a donated television set, VCR and a stack of movies. “It’s a nice distraction,” says Karen.
Before the storm, Karen worked at the New Orleans Convention Center and Annie was a breakfast chef at the Creole Café. Both will start looking for jobs in the next day or so. As you can see from the
photo, both are still wearing the ID bracelets they received at the Dallas Convention Center. They have established a post office box there and return to check their mail regularly.
When asked if they would return to New Orleans, both kept quiet for a moment and then said they haven’t yet decided.
