Supporting children after Hurricane Katrina: Reflections on psychosocial principles in practice.

Abstract

Arriving in Baton Rouge with the international aid agency I had just joined for Katrina relief work, 1 saw for the first time a familiar face from beloved New Orleans. My friend looked rough-dirty T-shirt and overalls, haggard face-as if she had trekked all the way to Baton Rouge through the swamp. She had been cutting out sections of drywall from the flooded homes of friends to prevent the creeping mold from rising up and taking over the rest of their houses. She looked at me seriously when I said I hoped to get to the city soon. "Brace yourself," she warned, "I mean it. It looks like a war zone."As aid workers and returnees after Katrina, we were faced with a complex challenge-a "complex emergency" in our own backyard. The scope and severity of the destruction were unprecedented, and indeed, my friend was right. It looked just like the war zones I had seen overseas. A huge swath of devastation stretched from the Mississippi Gulf Coast to New Orleans and beyond-you could drive for 3 hours and not get beyond the damage. There were almost no basic services-few if any functioning gas stations, restaurants, pharmacies, or grocery stores-let alone movie theaters, churches, parks, or stretches of beach free enough of dangerous debris to allow a child to play. There were large numbers of displaced persons, a sudden diaspora of New Orleanians and Mississippians crowding into Baton Rouge and Jackson and scattering to all states in the Union. Our "camps" were astrodomes, gymnasiums, tent cities, and eventually trailer parks. Suddenly, after the storm, there were rampant violence, looters, men with guns (legally and illegally), humvees carrying National Guard troops, soldiers posted as guards in front of hospitals to protect their drug supplies, and then an influx of the familiar white vehicles of 25

Building Community Capacity and Fostering Disaster Resilience

“…Consistent with an ecological approach, efforts must also be targeted to the prime proximal influences in children's lives: their parents and caregivers. Research has documented the importance of maintaining (or re‐establishing) routines, providing consistent discipline, and using predictable and nurturant caregiving in facilitating positive adjustment after an adversity, including postdisaster (Masten & Narayan, ; Snider et al., ). In the resilience literature, connection with competent, responsive, caring adults is one of the most commonly reported protective factors, reducing the likelihood of problems in adjustment and increasing positive, healthy adaptation (Luthar et al., ).…”

“…Although considerable attention is justifiably focused on response and recovery efforts, optimally, a system or infrastructure to support this work should be put in place well before a disaster strikes. Developing such a network of support can enhance capacity for response proactively, result in greater efficiency in the aftermath of disaster, and reduce the risk of ill‐targeted or duplicative services (e.g., Kilmer & Gil‐Rivas, ; Snider et al., ). Professional and nonprofessional community members could play roles in laying the groundwork for a collaborative system, one in which the needs of children and families are paramount.…”

“…Broadly, representatives from agencies and organizations need to communicate directly about their strengths and consider how to capitalize on their competencies in their specific responses; that is, rather than forging forward with the goal of being first or most important (Snider et al., ), they must identify and follow through on plans that use their complementary connections, resources, and capacities. If necessary, someone outside of the organizations involved could facilitate the discussions and help coordinate response; Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster often serve this function (see http://www.nvoad.org/about-us/).…”

“…Adults and children alike experience disruption to their social networks subsequent to disaster (Snider et al., ), and community members’ natural settings – schools, their faith‐based communities, and the like–are well‐suited targets for efforts to help children and families connect with others. Linkages within such natural support systems can provide mechanisms by which families may obtain tangible resources and supports (e.g., Landau, ).…”

“…Given their central role as part of the infrastructure of a community, strengthening schools’ capacity to serve as a resource for children and families, both predisaster and postdisaster, can be beneficial. Schools frequently serve as a source of information, connection, and structure for youths and their families, and those characteristics can be a substantial asset postdisaster (Kilmer, Gil‐Rivas, & MacDonald, ; Snider et al., ). For example, Jacqueline MacDonald, principal of Mayfair Elementary School, which opened for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, recognized the critical role her school could play for these children and their families (Kilmer et al., ).…”