I don't feel that the stressors in my life as a child can compare to the stressors that I saw in children who were af fected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. My future husband's grandchildren (ages 5 & 6) were affected by the storm and I saw how this catastrophic event caused them to be afraid of a heavy rain and very apprehensive as to when they would be able to return home to New Orleans. It was an adjustment to be in a different city and especially without their mom for most of the time. They had to adjust to new friends and new school. When they did return to the New Orleans region several months later, they lived in a trailer with their mother and grandparents. The schools were not functioning at full capacity but at least they had somewhere to go during the day. When we talked with them on the weekend, they sounded content but we knew they sounded different than they had a year ago.
Although New Orleans is coming back strong again and the children are in their home again, the effects of the storm is still there. The now 10 year old still does not like storms and they talk about the items they don't have in their school like access to working computers in their classrooms but they do have afterschool programs they attend. When we visited this past September, the city is vibrant again and we saw children that are happy to be in familiar surroundings which help in their growth because children do need stability. New Orleans and the gulf coast region have gone through a lot of stressful events lately (e.g. oil spill) but they are strong people that keep pushing forward.
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