Keion Smith was born and raised in New Orleans. She bought her first home in 2002, when she was 25. Before Katrina, Keion worked full-time in the social services field while raising her then 6-year-old son JaQuan. She holds an associates, bachelors and masters degree in substance abuse and criminal justice. Keion and JaQuan left New Orleans when they heard Katrina was moving closer. They bounced from Baton Rouge to Dallas, and remained there for a year. When they finally made it back to New Orleans, Keion learned that her place of employment had shut down, JaQuan’s school was closed, and she was left with an immense amount of water damage due to a destroyed roof and gaping holes in the siding of her home.

Keion soon found a new job as a social worker with Louisiana Spirit Hurricane Recovery and set about rebuilding her life and her home. She received money through the Road Home Program to complete the repairs to the inside on her home, but when she hired a contractor to elevate her home, he took her money and never completed the work. She spent months looking for the individual who was responsible for this terrible crime, but never found him.

In 2012, JaQuan found his mom in bed having a seizure. Keion was rushed to Ochsner Hospital, where she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The doctors were hopeful that they could reduce the size of the tumor with medication instead of surgery and they were successful! Keion feels very lucky to have survived the trials over the past several years, and although she has been declared disabled to work, she is confident that she can provide a good life for her son.