Hurricane Katrina: NCTSN in New Orleans

Joy D. Osofsky, Ph.D. and
Howard J. Osofsky, M.D., Ph.D.

Recently, on an elevator on the cruise ship housing the New Orleans Police Department and their families, a number of us shared uncertainty about what day it was. One police officer said, "I know what day it is. Everyday is the day after the hurricane."

When Hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury on New Orleans, and the levees then broke causing the flooding that then devastated our region, we were in New York. We returned to Baton Rouge on the first available flight. When we arrived at 9:30 pm, people were sleeping on the airport floor. We did not know where we would spend the night, but as we waited (for two hours) for our rental car we received a call on our cell phone that the State Police had a room for us at a local motel. The next day we went to the Command Center in Baton Rouge, a place with much security, activity, and tension, to see where we could be most helpful.

At the request of the assistant secretary of the State Office of Mental Health, and the superintendent of the Louisiana State Department of Education, we represented their offices in meeting the needs of children and families throughout the state. Together with Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Department of Psychiatry professionals, we are providing oversight, training, supervision, and consultation for crisis services, addressing the psychological and educational needs of the 189,000 displaced children in Louisiana. With consultations from NCTSN and SAMSHA, we are currently implementing training modules for school districts and modules for crisis-response teams throughout the state of Louisiana.

On September 5, at the request of Mayor Ray Nagin, we provided direct services for the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), the Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Services. We subsequently added direct services for St. Bernard Parish, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the flooding. Initially, accompanied by armed State Police, we made our way into the still-flooded city. Our first meeting with the NOPD Chief and ranking officers took place in City Hall, which was still surrounded by water and had limited generator power. These courageous officers, who had worked with us throughout the years, hugged us as they emotionally described events since August 29. (Continued)