More than three years after Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans, the storm’s effects can still be seen in the prevalence of disease and homelessness in the city.
For the second year in a row a group of more than 20 Binghamton University graduate students will travel to New Orleans this winter break to further relief efforts.
From Jan. 10 to 19, 22 students from the Masters of Social Work (MSW) program at BU will serve the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Participants plan on helping out in a number of ways, including counseling youth, reaching out to home-bound elders and the homeless, conducting case-management and promoting HIV/AIDS awareness.
The program was initiated last year when Jennifer Marshall, BU’s director of field education in the MSW program, met with a co-founder of Love Knows No Bounds, an organization dedicated to providing support to survivors of the storm in the Gulf Coast. Although basic necessities such as food and shelter were met by members of Love Knows No Bounds, Marshall said, the group still wanted to address issues that were neglected, like the mental health of residents in the city.
In response to the need, the MSW organized 15 students, an alumnus and a community practitioner to help out during the last spring break.
During last year’s trip BU students helped more than 30 youths, 15 homes with multiple families and hundreds of homeless people over the seven-day period.
Students in the program have been preparing on Saturdays this semester to organize the trip. According to Marshall, students are set to attend two days of training, during which they’ll learn “loss and trauma, job training, HIV/AIDS education, group work and group process and cultural competency.”
The students have already raised more than $1,000 from bake sales. The money will cover initial costs for the trip, such as plane ticket deposits. Members of the University’s College of Community and Public Affairs are set to join in the fundraising efforts, which include candy bar sales and other events. In addition, on Dec. 15, Uno Chicago Grill will donate a portion of the cost of each meal they sell that day to the trip.
The trip serves as one of several internships that MSW students can complete for their coursework. The goals of the experience are to engage students in community service, strengthen response skills in the case of trauma or disaster, educate, decrease rates of HIV/AIDS and support caregivers in the area who may suffer from “compassion fatigue,” Marshall said.
“I’ve done relief trips before and I wanted to go,” Jessica Skelly, a second year graduate student majoring in social work, said. “So this year when the trip came up, I jumped at the chance. I love to serve people, actively doing things to help others.”
According to Marshall, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina resulted in a surge in the number of HIV/AIDS victims in New Orleans. In addition, poverty, low graduation rates, low income earning power and higher truancy continues to afflict these communities, she said.
To combat these specific issues, BU students are planning to teach unemployed teen parents interviewing skills and resume-building in the hope that they will be able to find jobs. The Southern Tier AIDS Program, a local organization in Binghamton, will join efforts alongside the MSW program to train BU students for the job.
Last year, two students helped a woman who needed a tracheotomy, but who was equipped with neither the financial nor medical means to receive one. Binghamton graduate students coordinated a transfer of the woman’s records and provided her with transportation to the nearest hospital.
Anyone interested in contributing to the effort can write a check to MSW New Orleans and send it to: Binghamton University, PO BOX 6000, Department of Social Work, Attn: Jessica Skelly, Binghamton, NY, 13902-6000.