Citation

Meyers D, Allien CE, Dunn D, Wennerstrom A, Springgate BF. Ethn. Dis. 2011; 21(3 Suppl 1): S1-52-7.

Affiliation

St. Anna's Episcopal Church, USA. diana@stannanola.org

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, International Society on Hypertension in Blacks)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

22352081

Abstract

Disaster-affected communities may face prolonged challenges to community-wide mental health recovery due to limitations in local resources, infrastructure, and leadership. REACH NOLA, an umbrella non-profit organization comprising academic institutions and community-based agencies, sought to promote community recovery, increase mental health service delivery capacity, and develop local leadership in post-Katrina New Orleans through its Mental Health infrastructure and Training Project (MHIT). The project offered local health service providers training and follow-up support for implementing evidence-based and new approaches to mental health service delivery. This commentary shares the perspectives of three community leaders who co-directed MHIT. They describe the genesis of MHIT, the experience of each agency in adopting leadership roles in addressing post-disaster needs, challenges and growth opportunities, and then overarching lessons learned concerning leadership in a prolonged crisis. These lessons may be relevant to community agencies addressing hurricane recovery in other areas of the Gulf States as well as to inform long-term disaster recovery efforts elsewhere.

Language: en