2008 Woodie Awards
Associate dean helps Katrina victims
Howard Smith travels to Louisiana to aid in hurricane relief efforts
Brady C. Mallory
Issue date: 10/18/05 Section: Campus
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Biblical lessons teach the masses that it is important to be a Good Samaritan to those who need help.
With the damage done in the South by Hurricane Katrina, the need for Good Samaritans is higher than the price of gas. There are many in Brookings who have done their part to aid in the relief effort.
One man at SDSU journeyed to the destruction and aided those who lost their possessions, homes, families, lives and sense of security.
Howard Smith, associate dean of the College of Education and Counseling, was in Louisiana Sept. 7 through Sept. 21 as a disaster mental health officer. Many charities and fundraisers have provided for the monetary needs of the cities and people. For those who needed emotional and mental guidance, Smith and other licensed mental health practitioners provided mental health support, or counseling, to those who sought psychological first aid from the wreckage.
A licensed mental health counselor, Smith notes that his services in the hurricane-damaged areas are vastly different from any regular desk job.
"You don't have an office. Walking through the debris, sitting on a cot in a shelter, that's your office," Smith said. "It's different in many ways. Clients don't make appointments, we find them."
Smith also got a taste of what day-to-day life has become for the victims of such a disaster. Due to the fact that all hotels were booked, those providing relief stayed in the shelters as well. Spending so much time with those who inhabited the shelters showed the morale of the people.
"There's a sense of loss. You're not in control of your life as some of us like to be," Smith said.
Though the conditions of the centers may not be ideal-with crying children, public showers and more than 6,000 inhabitants in each shelter-people have some form of shelter during a time when resources are scarce. In addition, many families are coming to the realization that some of their loved ones will not emerge from the destruction and will become only fond memories. However, through small miracles, some have found lost loved ones.
With the damage done in the South by Hurricane Katrina, the need for Good Samaritans is higher than the price of gas. There are many in Brookings who have done their part to aid in the relief effort.
One man at SDSU journeyed to the destruction and aided those who lost their possessions, homes, families, lives and sense of security.
Howard Smith, associate dean of the College of Education and Counseling, was in Louisiana Sept. 7 through Sept. 21 as a disaster mental health officer. Many charities and fundraisers have provided for the monetary needs of the cities and people. For those who needed emotional and mental guidance, Smith and other licensed mental health practitioners provided mental health support, or counseling, to those who sought psychological first aid from the wreckage.
A licensed mental health counselor, Smith notes that his services in the hurricane-damaged areas are vastly different from any regular desk job.
"You don't have an office. Walking through the debris, sitting on a cot in a shelter, that's your office," Smith said. "It's different in many ways. Clients don't make appointments, we find them."
Smith also got a taste of what day-to-day life has become for the victims of such a disaster. Due to the fact that all hotels were booked, those providing relief stayed in the shelters as well. Spending so much time with those who inhabited the shelters showed the morale of the people.
"There's a sense of loss. You're not in control of your life as some of us like to be," Smith said.
Though the conditions of the centers may not be ideal-with crying children, public showers and more than 6,000 inhabitants in each shelter-people have some form of shelter during a time when resources are scarce. In addition, many families are coming to the realization that some of their loved ones will not emerge from the destruction and will become only fond memories. However, through small miracles, some have found lost loved ones.