STORY.
MILLIONS OF
PEOPLE WERE
AFFECTED WHEN
HURRICANE
KATRINA RIPPED
THROUGH THE
LOUISIANA
COAST.
MANY OF THOSE
IN THE EYE OF
THE STORM..
WERE CHILDREN.
A DECADE AGO...
A LOCAL
RESEARCHER SET
OUT ON A
MISSION TO HELP
THE AREA'S MOST
VULNERABLE.
PKG
it is actually really
difficult work
THROUGHOUT
HER CAREER...
ALICE
FOTHERGILL HAS
SPENT A GREAT
DEAL OF TIME
STUDYING
DISASTERS AND
THEIR EFFECTS
ON THE PEOPLE
WHO EXPERIENCE
THEM.
there's still
abandoned homes
and the
neighborhoods
where some of our
kids lived, haven't
been rebuilt
FOR THE LAST
TEN YEARS HER
FOCUS HAS BEEN
ON THE KIDS
AGED THREE TO
EIGHTEEN WHO
WERE AFFECTED
BY HURRICANE
KATRINA.
we began the study
immediately after
hurricane katrina hit
and we went to
Louisana
immediately to
begin researching
and really looking at
what happened to
kids and what were
their experiences
and what did they
need during
response and
recovery and what
helped them the
most.
SHE TEAMED UP
WITH AN OLD
FRIEND AND
FELLOW
RESEARCHER
LORI PEEK.. AND
OVER DOZENS OF
TRIPS TO
LOUISANA AND
OTHER PARTS OF
THE COUNTRY...
THE DUO
INTERVIEWED
HUNDREDS OF
CHILDREN ALL
DISPLACED BY
THE STORM.
THEIR FINDINGS..
ALL CHRONICLED
IN THEIR NEW
BOOK CHILDREN
OF KATRINA.
it was erie, it was
really an incredible
experience being
there and seeing
the devastation.
The city was quiet it
felt like, it is hard to
describe
abandoned
WITH SO LITTLE
RESEARCH ON
THE TOPIC... THE
U-V-M
PROFESSOR
WANTED TO
UNDERSTAND
HOW THE STORM
STAYED WITH
KIDS.
a lot of younger
children would be
more clingy or have
nightmares or
wanted to be with
their families and
didn't want to be
separated a lot of
uncertainty, and
older children might
engage with more
risk taking behavior,
they worried a lot
about suicide with
teens
SHE SAYS SOCIAL
CLASS MAKES A
DIFFERENCE TOO.
the people who are
most vulnerable
prior to a disaster,
the issue of social
and political
inequality and
access to resources
is huge
THEY DID FIND..
SOME COPING
TACTICS WORKED
ESPECIALLY
WELL.
curriculum with sort
of arts and music
and theater and
journal writing was
incredibly helpful.
WITH THE
DEVASTATING
EFFECTS OF THE
STORM..
FOTHERGILL
FOUND EVEN THE
STRONGEST OF
CHILDREN COULD
ONLY HANDLE SO
MUCH.
no matter how
resilient they are, if
they can't find
housing.. If their
family can't find
housing, they are
not bouncing back
OC
FOR MORE ON
FOTHERGILL'S
FINDINGS YOU
CAN PICK UP HER
BOOK NOW IN
BOOKSTORES
AND ONLINE.
IN THE
NEWSROOM,
RACHEL KARCZ
WPTZ
NEWSCHANNEL5.
NEW TONIGHT --
AN ONLINE
