Resilience Challenged: Thoughts on Children's Mental Health in the Gulf Coast 5 Years After Katrina

Abstract

Geographic circumstances: Soon after Hurricane Katrina, I tended to the mental health needs of children and families and to the need for developing programs to take care of the most affected populations; I revisited the Gulf Coast area of impact about twice per month for days at a time for ∼3 years. About the author: I am a fellow at the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and adjunct faculty at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, and I privately practice psychology in New York City. A few days after Katrina's landfall I participated in a needs assessment with the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. While at the George R. Brown center in Houston, Texas, I interacted with many evacuees and helped them connect with relatives and offered them psychological first aid and support. This shelter was housing literally tens of thousands of people, which allowed us to both help many people and obtain information that later helped to shape our programs. My life and that of my colleagues at Columbia's National Center for Disaster Preparedness and the Children's Health Fund changed dramatically as it became our mission to develop permanent medical and mental health programs and training that would provide assistance not only immediately but also in the long-term aftermath of this horrible disaster. Although my home remained in New York City, I spent a great deal of time in Louisiana and Mississippi over the next 3½ years. I feel honored to … Address correspondence to Paula A. Madrid, PsyD, Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, 22 Putnam Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139. E-mail: questions{at}paulamadrid.com