Gulfport, MS — January 9, 2008 — After 40 years away, Gulfport native Annie James had finally moved back home on August 26, 2005. Three days later, because her brand-new home was identified as being in a warning zone for Hurricane Katrina, she was evacuated.

Three weeks later, she returned again to find her new home destroyed by the devastating hurricane. The city of Gulfport declared it uninhabitable.

IRD's Gulf Coast Community Services Center (GCCSC) heard about the case through the needs assessment coalition they participated in, and assigned a case manager to Annie to secure the community, state, and federal resources to rebuild her home. Less than a year after Annie first approached the center, and less than a month after the reconstruction began, Annie is moving back into her home.

“Not one group can do everything ,” said GCCSC Director Lori West, explaining how the rebuilding process could happen so quickly. "If we join forces, though, we can get even more homes like Annie's rebuilt."

Lori and Annie's case manager at the GCCSC, Stephanie Mathes, helped Annie celebrate moving out of her FEMA trailer with the other partners who contributed to rebuilding her home. At a short ceremony before her tour of the home, Lori presented her with an official certificate of occupancy, as well as an additional $7,000 to purchase new furniture.

"I look at it now, it's like a flower that I have waited for to bloom," said James about the rebuild. "It was hard to wait, but it was all worth it."

The GCCSC has arranged, with the help of its coalition partners, to rebuild 25 more homes for its clients in Harrison and Hancock counties.

The GCCSC is a leading organization in providing critical case management services to victims of Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Through the case management program, the center has provided financial, psychological and housing counseling to almost a thousand hurricane survivors in the area.