The Young People

At long last I met with 3 of the students on my list that my instructions indicated follow-up. All three are teen-agers, one male, two female. all three were exhibiting such blatant PTSD symptomology I am referring them ASAP to the Psychology Clinic at the University here in Thibodaux. It was heart breaking. These are kids who escaped New Orleans and now live with relatives in the country. The adjustment from urban to country is huge without the trauma of surviving a major natural disaster. One of them had to stay on a roof for 5 days. She was at her sister's house when the levees broke. She was asleep when the helicopter came and they thought she was dead. She was pulled up into the helicopter on a rope by a "soldier man". She did not know where her mother was. She was taken to the Highway with her sister. The buses finally came (she said she had never seen an add water meal and thought it was too weird to eat. ) In the shoving to get on she lost her sister and was taken on another bus to Texas. On that bus she got her period. At this point in the conversation she bowed her head and wept. It was all I could do not to come up out of my chair. But I kept my professional distance and continued with the debriefing. She was in a shelter alone in Texas until the Red Cross found her-her mother had been searching for her.

So as you can see we are six months out and the trauma is still fresh. This is a weird time in a recovery process. People look fine, some of the mess is cleaned up. But all three of these children said it's on their minds everyday. It's no wonder. Last night on the local news there was only one story that was not about Katrina recovery: the bill in Congress blasting the current administration for the non-response, Squabbling in the statehouse over whether displaced New Orleans residents should be able to vote for their mayor from satellite locations (I'm watching this one-if Iraqi citizens can vote while in the US, New Orleans citizens should be able to as well. Big Duh.)

Tonight I meet with a group of substance abusers to see if they have children who need assistance. Hmmm, anybody want to make a bet?