Blessings

As soon as I learned about the ASB program I knew that I wanted to be involved. I still remember watching the news before Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. I remember imagining the people frantically driving away from an unpredictable storm that would inevitably devastate some area between New Orleans and the Florida Panhandle. I remember imagining what it would be like to be unable to identify my street or unable to find my house because it was gone. I imagined the bodies under the destruction. I imagined the hot hell of the south during the summer. I thought of the five-hundred year old oak tress gone. I thought of the antebellum homes destroyed. I thought of our country, our history. We all know that the effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans was devastating. We see the national news and we know that it was catastrophic. I imagined all of these things but I never knew what I could do to help – beyond making a donation. The truth is that I am detached from New Orleans. I have never lived on the Gulf Coast. I have no family in the Gulf Coast. As the time after Hurricane Katrina began to pass and the local news began to focus on other issues – the war in Iraq, politics, rising gas prices, the latest celebrity drama – I began to forget.

I began to forget until I learned of the ASB program. I was so excited because ASB provided a way for me to use the skills that I have been learning the past three years of my time at the University of Dayton School of Law to “make a difference.” I am not so naïve as to think that the little that I do will cause any major change. However, like Molly, I do believe that if everyone can help a little bit the aggregate effect of our help could make a difference. Looking back, I wish that I would have tried a little harder to do this a couple of years ago. I didn’t go out of my way to find this program or try to figure out how I could help beyond a small donation. Thanks to Molly’s efforts, however, I was able to jump on board this amazing program from the very beginning. For that I am eternally grateful to her. For that I feel blessed.

I will be working at the offices of the Pro Bono Project. I will be helping with successions. Katrina victims cannot get their FEMA money, cash insurance checks, get SBA loans or deal with the Louisiana Recovery Authority without having title to their house. Children and grandchildren of the original owners are living in the family home, but the latest generation does not have their name on the deeds in the courthouse. I will be helping to complete the probate process in order to transfer the title. I am extremely excited about my placement because I am interested in practicing in the estate planning area of the law. Although I feel blessed to have the ability to work in an area of the law that I am interested in, I truly hope that I can connect with these people and make a difference in even one person’s life.