University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: September 29, 2005

By JESSICA KELTZ
Reporter Contributor

Nancy Smyth was in the right place at the right time to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The dean of UB's School of Social Work was in San Antonio attending a national meeting of deans and directors of university social work programs shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.

Smyth soon heard that the need for volunteers far outstripped what mental health professionals could provide.

SMYTH

"Usually there are plenty of volunteers, but a lot of people in San Antonio (attending the national meeting) didn't have their licenses with them," she said. "I keep my license online so I was able to print it out."

She volunteered her time to counsel Katrina evacuees in a shelter in San Antonio. Now, four weeks after Katrina hit and about a week after people began fleeing Hurricane Rita, she fears those people may be on emotional overload.

"I think that it increases the stress exponentially for people," Smyth said of the second hurricane. "People were starting to let down their guard. The danger there is that you're really pushing people who are already on overload. Their bodies are exhausted."

While only a few hundred Katrina survivors were still living in Houston's Superdome when Rita approached, many more had found housing in the Houston area and in other cities where Rita posed a threat. Picking up and moving again in that situation would be unimaginable, Smyth said.

"To have to go through that again is definitely a major concern for these people," she said.

Smyth said she was able to teach people relaxation and breathing techniques, help them find loved ones and point them to longer-term services that might be helpful.

"Sometimes people just need someone to tell their whole story to," she added.

She believes that Katrina survivors are at a high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, and that any extreme stress suffered so soon after the devastating hurricane would only compound the risk.

Hurricane survivors weren't the only people in dire need of help, Smyth added. People who had been working at the shelter and otherwise aiding in relief efforts were exhausted and overwhelmed as well.

"They're at huge risk in a lot of ways," she said of first responders in particular, noting that two New Orleans police officers committed suicide in the days after Katrina. "People go into these professions because they're there to help people. Having to be totally helpless and make decisions on who's going to live and die in some situations—they're just not prepared for that."

In San Antonio, she was put in charge of the mental health unit of an 800-person shelter on only her second day of volunteering because those professionals staffing the shelter were so worn out, she said.

In the future, Smyth said she'd like to see first responders and mental health professionals get training to better understand each other's fields, noting that a federal grant makes such training possible in Erie County.

Further, even a little bit of quiet space in the San Antonio shelter, perhaps in the form of a nondenominational chapel, could have vastly improved the mental health of some of her charges, she said. A lot of people just needed to get away from the chaos and constant noise.

"Spiritual coping is a coping strategy that helps a lot of people," she added.