replenishing the spirit of the survivors.

God, liquor, and Katrina Coping with the devastation of the mind and spirit at Camp Edwards BY DEIRDRE FULTON

Standing outside the three-story barracks he will call home for the foreseeable future, Don Vavasseur recounts how he navigated the streets of his New Orleans neighborhood, Gentilly, looking for stranded victims. On the first day, Vavasseur and a companion encountered a dead body and covered it with a blanket. Days later, the same body lay in the same place, draped with the same blanket. By then, it was bloated from the water and the heat.
This is just one of countless gruesome images that will haunt thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims, including many of the 209 evacuees who arrived at Camp Edwards, located on Otis Air Force base in Buzzard’s Bay last week.
In the weeks following the category-four storm, government officials and aid workers have concentrated on ensuring physical survival. Rescuing people. Feeding people. Housing people. Clothing people. But volunteers at Camp Edwards, like those at evacuation centers across the country, are trying to create an environment that also replenishes the spirit of the survivors. That could be even more vital for this group since, according to organizers, most of the 209 survivors were among the last hold-outs — those who stayed through the storm and the first part of the aftermath before finally being coaxed away from the devastation. Research shows that approximately five percent of natural-disaster victims develop diagnosable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet others will be at risk for depression, substance abuse, and other disorders.
At Camp Edwards, organizers are doing a number of things to help ease the shock. At breakfast last Friday, for example, they made a last-minute decision to serve grits to help the evacuees feel more at home. On Sunday, residents attended a rousing worship service led by Camp Edwards’s unofficial "mayor," Reverend Jeffrey Brown. They’re also getting cable installed and new recreation equipment.........

my ex-boss is burried at camp edwards/otis afb. the cemetary section, believe it or not, is simply beautiful. the scrub growth (you know how plants grow next to the ocean. it's a different kind of growth) is haunting. the base, when i was there, was not very populated. i did see service people here and there, but NOT many. good luck to all of you katrina survivors and r.i.p. dear bill. i know you're running things in your own way where ever you are now.