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On this day nearly two decades ago, people in our area were bracing for one of the biggest hurricanes in the history of our state.Thursday marks 19 years since Hurricane Katrina. Robert Green said, “If you look around, we have Dollar Tree. We have a new grocery store up the street. But the most important thing to me is in the morning I see kids getting on school buses.”Green is a lifelong Lower 9th Ward survivor. He has seen firsthand how his community looked before and after Hurricane Katrina. Nineteen years later, he said he is seeing new homes being built and more people living here. On Aug. 28, 2005, Green, his mom Joyce, and other family attempted to evacuate to Nashville Tennessee. But it was not easy. “We tried to leave. We tried to get out. We tried to get into the Superdome when we couldn’t continue forward because my mother was sick. When we got to the Superdome the lines were long. They weren’t prepared to take a sick person like she was.”Hours later, on Aug. 29, the family was here when there was a 25-foot surge of water. The levees broke.The water uprooted their home from up the street to this tree. Green’s mother Joyce and his granddaughter 3-year-old Shanai Green lost their lives. “Anyone who survived the storm, surviving their rooftops,” said Green.Years later, Green said he is still grieving.His home is currently seen with a picture of him and Brad Pitt. Directly in front, with the words “Make it Right Brad Pitt Fix My House.” Green’s home was one of several rebuilt through the “Make It Right” Foundation organized by the actor. But the home started to show issues shortly after. “We didn’t know we’d be victims of engineering shortcomings. We didn’t know we would be victims of product failure.”The foundation agreed to pay upward of $20 million to people impacted. To this day, residents like Green never got that money.Still Green is hopeful for himself and the residents of the Lower 9. “What is the important thing is that we can determine what our future is. We have the ability to be able to do that,” said Green. Thursday there will be several events across New Orleans to commemorate Hurricane Katrina.A press conference will be held at 10 a.m. at 1239 Baronne St. in recognition of Hurricane Katrina’s anniversary as a state and local holiday.Saturday at noon, there will be a healing ceremony at North Galvez and Jourdan Avenue followed by a rally at Hunter’s Field.