Post-Katrina Rebuilding Goes On in Mississippi Town

A Mississippi Lutheran group remains on the front lines of rebuilding efforts in Bay St. Louis, one of the last organizations still active in such work in the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast community, says USA Today.

Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi, which concentrated on literacy and counseling programs before Katrina, shifted its focus to rebuilding homes and recruiting volunteers nationwide following the devastating August 2005 storm. It remains a leader of local efforts that have shrunk significantly as federal relief money dwindled and other volunteer groups moved on.

State and U.S. officials say about 1,400 Mississippi families are still living in mobile homes, trailers, and federally issued temporary cottages as a result of Katrina.