In the wake of the first post-Katrina Mardi Gras, I started thinking about the emotional health of displaced New Orleanians. My husband’s company has been involved in the receivership of the New Orleans Housing Authority (HANO) for the last few years, and his partner Nadine is the current head of HANO, so I know a bit more about the city than your average visitor, and not just from a Bourbon Street point of view.

I visited the city three years ago while my husband was doing work at the...