Katrina's Children
Hurricane Katrina was a disaster on a scale unprecedented in the United States. On August 29, 2005, 650,000 people were displaced from their homes in Louisiana alone and several thousand more were displaced from their homes in Mississippi and the Gulf Coast. Not only were homes affected, but 875 schools were damaged and 40 were completely destroyed. The number of Head Start Programs went from 32 to 9.
The news media gave a great deal of attention to the hurricane, its effects, and immediate aftermath. The images that appeared continuously on almost every television screen across the nation caused Americans to react in horror at the treatment of both the survivors and those who died. Still, to this day, there is no protocol for addressing the needs of children and their families when the next natural disaster strikes.
Although most of the country has stopped paying attention to Hurricane Katrina’s effects, they are by no means gone. A recent report, Katrina’s Children: Social Policy Considerations for Children in Disasters, issued by the Society for Research in Child Development, examines the longer-term impact Katrina has had on the mental health of children based on an assessment of 2192 children who had been displaced and were currently living in or around New Orleans. These children were surveyed approximately one year after the disaster.
When Katrina hit, children were torn away from the lives they once knew. They lost their sources of support and stability, both of which are essential to healthy child development. Most of the 4th – 12th graders lost personal belongings, and one-third reported being separated from a pet. Another third stated that they had been separated from their caregivers at some point during or after the hurricane. One-fifth reported that a family member had been injured, and 15% reported that a family member had been killed.
These children also learned quickly that the adults around them had no clear plan for getting life back on track. They had lost their homes, and half said at least one parent was unemployed as a result of the hurricane. One year after the disaster (July 2006), only one-fifth of the pre-Katrina number of child-care centers were open and there were concerns as to how the remaining schools were going to be able to provide enough teachers and services for returning children. Many displaced children reported they were being teased and called “trailer trash” as a result of their make-shift living conditions and lack of adequate clothes and other possessions.
Not surprisingly, about one half of the children and adolescents met the cut-off for referral for mental health services. The most common symptoms were depression, loneliness, sadness, and anger, though many of the younger children demonstrated regressed, clingy, and anxious behaviors. Symptoms were higher among children who were separated from caregivers during evacuation and displacement, and in the 37% of the sample who reported previous trauma and loss.
This report demonstrates the high need for children’s mental health services that should be made available well beyond the time of a precipitating event. It also calls for a clear, articulated plan for children and families that can be implemented as soon as major disaster strikes.
Questions for discussion:
- What were your initial reactions to the way in which the United States handled the Katrina aftermath?
- What are your opinions now about the way in which the United States has handled displaced residents?
- How can mental health services best provide care for children still affected by their experiences with Katrina?
- How can Louisiana best serve its children while still trying to rebuild its schools and other resources for children?
- How can adults create an environment that is both physically and emotionally safe for these children?
As always, we look forward to your opinions and perspectives.
Your thoughts…
Comments:
 We work with some of these children here in Minnesota. Some of the best strategies to help relieve these children of their grief, their fears and nightmares and their displacement from the world they knew is that they have opportunities to talk to each other and to tell their story to us.
Many revert for a time to acting younger and emotionally they are needy. We just go with that and make the allowances while tempting them to become involved and remain open to talk, holding and listening. We find we must constantly reassure them that we are taking care of them until their parent(s) return for them at the end of the day. We also give them the message that there is a reason and a purpose for their lives because that they survived. Posted Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 04:41 AM
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