My friend Howie Jacobson conducted this interview a few months months after the levee failures.

It’s with Mike Ellis, a social worker from Ithaca, NY, who visited New Orleans to provide counseling and help gut houses Christmas 2005.

This interview captures the trauma people suffered, the way the people of New Orleans have been abandoned and the courageous community-based, self-help efforts that are ongoing – and deserve our support.

Audio: Interview with Mike Ellis

“Stay awake to what’s happening down there. I’ve only touched the surface.” – Mike Ellis