Same here in Gulfport/ Biloxi / Pass / Bay area, still totally wiped out on the beach front. How's the crime in your area? We are in a fema trailor park, and some idiot stole the freon (or whatever) from our Air Conditioner a few days ago, the FEMA people said the homless and drug addicts steal it too make meth. It's getting bad over here in some parts. So far so good ,where we are at.
I spent the week before Christmas in Bay St. Louis and Waveland with the 8 Days of Hope group. We had 650 volunteers working in the area. My son and I worked in 3 houses in various stages of repair. There is certainly a lot of work still to be done. The first house we worked in (in BSL) was complete except for a little trim work when we left. The owner will finish that work. The last house (in Waveland) is still just a shell with no inside walls.
VA: There are groups in NO and along the MS coast who are doing this kind of work every day. Find one and get involved. I can point you to some if your church can't.
If you want to do something on a more personal level, there are dozens of FReepers like mosquewatch.com who are still in need of help. Get with some of those folks and see what you can do to help them. I'm an old computer geek. I knew nothing about home repair/construction when I got to BSL a couple weeks ago. I learned. A young, motivated individual such as yourself certainly can too.