"Jake, say hello," James shouts from his front porch.

As usual, Jake responds with a yelp and James bursts into laughter.

"Good dog, good dog," he says looking towards Jake.

Then he turns to us and says, "He's a champ!"

Jake is James' Seeing Eye dog that gives him the ability to find places he otherwise wouldn't be able to find.

"I tell him Jake find the steps or Jake go left; find the door," James says.

However on, August 29, 2005, James lost his way.

Hurricane Katrina hit and James found himself alone lying on the floor with his dogs praying to the good Lord.

"Then water came and wet my feet," James remembers.

After three hours of waiting, a neighbor came to help.  "We walked two doors over to get to a boat," James says.  "We had to walk on our tip toes because the water was right up to my chin."

But for now, the neighbor could only rescue James.  Jake would have to be left behind.

  Jake and James were separated and James lost is only form of sight.

James' next stop to safety was a local church.  After waiting for several days, he was rescued again.  He was dropped off along the interstate and told to walk west.  Without Jake leading him, James had to rely on the goodness of others to get him to safety.  James eventually found himself in Houston, TX after many subsequent stops.

More than three weeks had passed before a rescue team made it to James' house. Nothing looked the same, except for one familiar face sitting at the front door.  It was Jake.  He had survived the storm.

James and Jake were reunited.

It's been quite an arduous journey since this storybook reunion, however. James may not be sure what direction he is heading, but he certainly hasn't lost sight of what's important in life.

"My belief in God comes first," James says.

His belief in others may have diminished, however.  Like so many other victims, James ran across five different contractors who all took advantage of him and his inability to see.  They left the inside of his house incomplete and told James things were there that never actually were.

"They made the inside of my home look as if they got angry with me or we had an argument," James says.

Unlike so many others however, James has the copies of the contractor agreements and by law could have them arrested and press charges, but James chooses not to do so.

"Many people think I'm being foolish," said James, who chooses to rely on God instead of the law.

"Jesus Christ states if somebody steals something from you, let them have it and turn the other check," James says.

James currently rents a small space, but the living conditions aren't adequate.

"Where I am, it's not comfortable for the blind," James says.  "It's comfortable being in your own home."  Soon enough, James will get that comfortable feeling back.

 Even though James has been dealt some tough hands, he can still smile and laugh each day.

Sitting on his front porch, James shouts, "Hello Angela!" down the sidewalk.

James can't see his neighbor next door, but he knows she is there.

He turns to us and says, "She's a good friend."

James and Jake can't wait to return home and their neighbors are just as anxious to have this dynamic duo back in the neighborhood.

Ralph's primary goal is to get his old life back. Always independent and proud of being able to provide well for his wife and five children, Ralph, 39, now finds himself having to accept help from others for the first time in his life.

Before Hurricane Katrina took everything away from him, Ralph, who was born and raised in St. Bernard Parish, lived with his family in a rented home in Chalmette. He and his wife Vicki, 33, shared a happy life with their children—Priscilla, 16, Tony, 10, Isabella, 8, and Lex, 5. Fourteen-month-old Rocco, who was born after Hurricane Katrina, has only known life in a crowded FEMA trailer.

Both Ralph and Vicki's families live in St. Bernard Parish, so they always had family close by. Ralph ran his own construction business. He worked hard and tried to save money to buy a home for his family.

"We had a lot and we lost a lot," he said. "We lost everything—even our clothes. My kids are still having flashbacks and so am I."

The Sunday morning before Hurricane Katrina arrived, Ralph was watching the news when his sister called from Tampa and begged him to evacuate. Ralph, Vicki and his parents had hoped to stay in Chalmette and ride out the storm as they had done many times before. Ralph decided to take his sister's advice, loaded the family in the car, and headed towards Dallas. The nine-hour drive they had planned for turned into 29 grueling hours in the car.

"When we got there, we had only the clothes on our backs," Ralph said. "We were like homeless people. We finally found a hotel for all of us and some church people brought us clean, fresh clothes. I'm very grateful to them."

The family stayed in the hotel for six weeks. They then returned to Louisiana and stayed with a cousin in Metairie for two weeks. Ralph started looking for work while his dad looked for apartments. He found two apartments in Algiers. Ralph and the rest of the family wanted to return to Chalmette, but couldn't afford the high, post-Katrina rental rates. A year later they moved into a FEMA trailer, which they continue to live in today.

Ralph wasn't able to start work until the following January. However, Ralph's construction business struggled to stay afloat. You often hear stories about contractors cheating homeowners, but we forget about the homeowners who don't pay their contractors. Ralph didn't have the funds to pay his employees or additional business expenses. Ralph is currently rebuilding his parents' home in Chalmette.

"One day on my way to work I went by a wrecked house for sale that had a big garage," Ralph said. "I knew what I wanted, and I checked it out and bought it. I used all my savings."

Ralph saw the gutted house in Chalmette as the best and only option for housing his family because rental prices continued to increase. Ralph began working on his house while also working on his parents' house. Ralph was worried he would not be able to finish rebuilding the home before their FEMA trailer was revoked. Community members suggested he apply for help at the St. Bernard Project.

"I don't like to get help, but now I have no choice," Ralph said. "I'm glad they're there for us, and I plan to work on the house, too. It will be great to work more on my own house."

When their home is done, Ralph and Vicki's children will finally have room to spread out. They're hoping to move in before Christmas. Ralph said they used to always have Thanksgiving at his mom's and then spend Christmas day at his home.

"Three years of Christmas in a trailer is horrible," he said. "I feel like I lost years of watching my kids grow up. My kids have gone through so much. We want to get back to normal and stay home and watch our kids have a big ole Christmas this time like we used to."