College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

SHARE

Students lend expertise, labor in hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast.
When counseling psychology graduate student Ashley Hackler drove through the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2006 en route to a psychology conference in New Orleans , she was surprised by the destruction.

"I couldn't believe what I saw," she said of the post-Hurricane Katrina devastation.

Her graduate training made her aware of the "alarming mental health needs" in the area, even a year after the hurricane. She wanted to help, so she started the Iowa State student organization named SHARE - Students Supporting Health and Relief Efforts.

She had seen the damage on television, but the enormity escaped her until viewing it first hand. "As we got closer to New Orleans, we started going through damaged, abandoned neighborhoods," Hackler said. "It was just amazing to me."

Hurricane Katrina hit land August 29, 2005. Considered the costliest hurricane in U.S. history, it ravaged Mississippi and Alabama coastal areas, and 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded after its levee system failed.

"While I was there I started talking to people around town," Hackler said. "I got a sense that things were really bad."

Hackler, a Richmond, Va., native, initially considered raising money to spend a semester doing clinical work in the hardest-hit areas. She soon realized she could do more by getting others involved. With the help of fellow graduate student Sarah Anthoney, SHARE was founded on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. According to Hackler, the organization has become a small but dedicated group.

Hackler said SHARE wants to incorporate local disaster relief through working with organizations such as the Red Cross to be on call to respond to local and regional disasters. In addition, she noted that disasters don't have to be of hurricane magnitude. A couple members have already responded to the needs of a family following a house fire.

During spring break week in March 2007, she and eight other graduate and undergraduate students traveled to the Gulf Coast. Mental health demands in the area remain high because of post-traumatic stress, Hackler said.

Five of the group members were counseling psychology graduate students who wanted to do as much disaster mental health work as possible. Not yet licensed as counseling psychologists, their mental health duties were limited, and they even had to refer to themselves as caseworkers rather than counselors.

"Disaster response is chaotic, and you have to do what is needed at the time," Hackler said. "A lot of organizations don't know how to utilize our skills in a short time period. They could if we were able to stay longer."

However, the students used the skills they did have and let their "genuine interest in talking to people" help those in need. Working with a disaster relief group, the ISU students went door to door in a trailer park asking people if they needed items like diapers or drinking water. They also played with children in an after-school program, did manual labor and listened as people unloaded their troubles.

SHARE members also used their counseling training to assist AmeriCorps (the federal community services organization) workers who were providing post-hurricane assistance. They observed the AmeriCorps staff interacting with people and offered suggestions from a counselor's viewpoint.

The group plans to raise funds to return to the Gulf Coast in March 2008 and volunteer for an organization called Hands On Gulf Coast . Hackler said it is likely the group will help residents through construction, youth development, park restoration and partnerships with local organizations such as Salvation Army and the Humane Society.

"It's still relief efforts no matter what you do," she said. "Even if you're gutting houses, you still meet people. We're still impacting lives."