This year marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history. While its winds and waters struck the Gulf Coast with unimaginable force, its impact rippled far beyond Louisiana, touching communities and hearts across the nation. Katrina became more than a storm -- it was a test of resilience, a call to come together and a reminder that in the face of destruction, hope can take root in the most unexpected places.
Many can still remember the images from those days -- the rooftops barely visible above the waterline, families huddled on overpasses waiting for help, and the eerie silence where whole neighborhoods once bustled with life. Hurricane Katrina didn’t just change Louisiana’s landscape; it altered the course of countless lives. For those of us at Boys Town Louisiana, it was a moment that tested our strength, our faith and our promise to the children who depended on us.
When the levees failed and New Orleans flooded, we knew there was no time to hesitate. The children in our care were foster youth and system-involved kids -- many had already experienced trauma and instability. Abandoning them was never an option. Our only mission was to keep them safe, no matter how far we had to go or how much we had to endure to get there.
Demetria, our Intake and Assessment Program Director at the time and now Senior Director of Residential Programs, remembers those chaotic days vividly. “We evacuated with the kids to a campground in north Louisiana, then to a campground in Marshall, Texas,” she says. “When that didn’t work out, we kept moving.”
What followed was an extraordinary journey -- a caravan of 30 to 35 young people and the staff who refused to leave their sides, traveling from Louisiana to Dallas, then San Antonio, and finally to Boys Town National Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. They did all this despite many staff members suffering losses of property and belongings back home during the storm.
In Omaha, our Louisiana kids enrolled in Boys Town High School, living in unused Family Homes while Louisiana staff relocated hundreds of miles from their own homes to continue caring for the same children they knew and loved.
It was because of the coordination of services between Boys Town and its sites around the country that this incredible feat became reality. Boys Town Louisiana reached out to the home campus in Omaha and was able to tap into a much bigger network of help.
Some staff stayed behind in Louisiana, coordinating from Baton Rouge while navigating their own family challenges. “We had weekly calls with the National team,” Demetria says. “It was about more than logistics -- it was about making sure everyone was accounted for and supported during an incredibly difficult time.”
Eventually, our Intake and Assessment program returned home -- our facility had survived the storm -- but our Family Homes were damaged, keeping some children in Nebraska much longer. Through it all, our mission never wavered. We adapted, we supported each other, and we kept going. Some of our students eventually were able to graduate in Omaha at Boys Town High School.
Today, two decades later, Boys Town Louisiana continues to stand for the same values that carried us through Katrina. From our Early Head Start program nurturing the youngest children to our residential services providing stability for youth in crisis, our commitment remains as strong as it was on the day the storm hit.
We know anniversaries like this can bring up difficult emotions, especially for those who lived through the chaos and loss of 2005. If this time of year is hard for you, Boys Town’s trained counselors are here to listen and help 24/7. Call the Boys Town National Hotline at 800-448-3000 or text VOICE to 20121. You are not alone -- then or now.
