Pam Cash, 52, with her adopted son, Denzel, center, 6, her son Nelson, right, 18, and her grandson Byron, 2, in New Orleans. Cash escaped the city with her family after Katrina. She returned two years ago to rebuild her home with the help of government grants.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Cash with sons Nelson, right, 18, and Rudolph, 16, after their first day of school in New Orleans. Nelson has Down syndrome. Rudolph has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Pam Cash with her son Rudolph who has ADHD. Cash is mother to seven children, and she has a scowl for anyone remotely suggesting she can't care for them.
Linda Davidson-TWP
Nelson, 18, who has Down syndrome, works on a computer on his first day of school.
Linda Davidson-TWP
Denzel Cash, 6, on on his first day of school at the Success Preparatory Academy in New Orleans. Denzel, who was born with fetal alcohol syndrome, needed surgery shortly after the family's return to the city. He had already undergone heart surgery in 2006. Pam Cash adopted Denzel, who is her nephew.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Denzel Cash plays with other first-graders at Success Preparatory Academy. During their escape from New Orleans in the wake of Katrina, the family had to carry the ill Denzel's portable breathing machine with them.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Michelle Martin ties her nephew Denzel's shoes.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Pam Cash, right, reunites with Lisa Vosper, who helped the family get housing in Baton Rouge after Katrina.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Vosper says hello again to Denzel at Cash's home in New Orleans. Cash is holding her niece's baby.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Cash, center, with her children, from left, Tony, Curtis, Michelle, Denzel, Nelson and Rudolph. Jessie Moore, right, was with the family when they escaped New Orleans after Katrina.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Pam Cash looks at a leaking bathroom ceiling in her New Orleans home.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Cash, 52, holds on to shells she collected after a shooting at a family birthday party.
Linda Davidson-TWP
Pam Cash, right, and her pastor Ronnie London lay hands on a fellow church member at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in New Orleans.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Cash, 52, makes dinner for her sons, nephews and grandsons.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Cash catches a few winks between her two cleaning jobs with sons Nelson, left, and Rudolph.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Cash, 52, takes a nap between her two cleaning jobs, which support her family in New Orleans.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Nelson calls his mother on his cell phone from their neighborhood in New Orleans. "There's more bad stuff going on at night around here now," Pam Cash says.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Rudoph, right, and a cousin work on the computer at home.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Pam Cash, 52, moved into her home on Marigny Street in 1998. She returned with her family two years ago after escaping New Orleans with them in the aftermath of Katrina. Cash took advantage of the government's Road Home program, eventually receiving $130,000 to rebuild.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Gallery Credits:
