Demand Is High for Post-Katrina Counseling Services

While shelter is the major concern for charities working along the Gulf Coast to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina,

the damage and dislocation wrought by the storm has also led to an increase in the need for mental-health services.

“Initially folks here were bound by an interest in getting back on their feet,” says Jeff Bennett, who heads the Gulf Coast Mental Health Center, in Gulfport, Miss. “But after a while living in FEMA trailers and dealing with insurance companies, that took its toll.”

He says the center’s counselors are treating a wide array of problems resulting from the storm: anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and domestic violence.

The center operates a walk-in clinic it opened right after the storm and an after-hours hotline nights and weekends. And 150 employees in the organization’s Project Recovery — hired with a grant from the federal Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration — go door-to-door asking people how they’re faring and making referrals to counseling services if they need help.

But keeping up with the demand hasn’t been easy. The center, which has programs and facilities in four South Mississippi counties, lost about half its buildings. Its residential substance-abuse program, for example, is still operating out of trailers. And the organization now has 130 to 140 employees, down from 230 before Katrina. Some workers left the area, and some have been lured to other jobs.

“The job market here is just absolutely wild,” says Mr. Bennett. “When you’ve got fast-food places paying $5,000 sign-up bonuses and $10 an hour, it’s hard for us to compete, even our master’s-level salaries.”

The workers hired by the federal grant to reach out to Katrina survivors receive no benefits, but are paid a higher starting salary than many of the organization’s regular positions.

Says Mr. Bennett: “We’re actually competing with our own Project Recovery.”