Displaced single mothers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: resource needs and resource acquisition (original) (raw)

Abstract

This research, which was conducted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, draws on 50 in-depth interviews with displaced single mothers and disaster relief providers in Colorado. Government agencies and charitable organizations offered various resources and services to Katrina evacuees, including food, clothing, emergency shelter, temporary housing, transportation, employment assistance, temporary childcare, school enrollment assistance, and health care. This study illustrates that there was close alignment between resources provided by disaster response organizations and resources needed by displaced single mothers. Yet, despite the considerable overlap, the single mothers in this study experienced many recovery-related difficulties associated with accessing available resources. In particular, single mothers 1) were often unaware of available resources; 2) experienced a conjunction of many different, pressing needs; 3) suffered a loss of their informal social safety net; 4) encount...

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In the fourth place, single mothers encountered a number of bureaucratic obstacles as 1ey attempted to access aid. Inconsistent rules and regulations resulted in the denial o: id to over half of the women in our sample. These women were deemed ineligible fot ood stamps or TANF because of the FEMA emergency funds they had received, ever 10ugh case managers contended that this should not have happened. FEMA housing ssistance policies were especially confusing and unreliable. The way that FEMA offerec ) pay rent and then threatened to discontinue assistance month by month createc istability, confusion, and unnecessary anxiety in these women’s lives. This hinderec 1eir ability to find stable employment and build a routine because they were living ir onstant fear of being forced to move. aid to over half of the women in our sample. These women were deemed ineligible for from friends and relatives—many of whom had also been affected by Katrina and were

In the fourth place, single mothers encountered a number of bureaucratic obstacles as 1ey attempted to access aid. Inconsistent rules and regulations resulted in the denial o: id to over half of the women in our sample. These women were deemed ineligible fot ood stamps or TANF because of the FEMA emergency funds they had received, ever 10ugh case managers contended that this should not have happened. FEMA housing ssistance policies were especially confusing and unreliable. The way that FEMA offerec ) pay rent and then threatened to discontinue assistance month by month createc istability, confusion, and unnecessary anxiety in these women’s lives. This hinderec 1eir ability to find stable employment and build a routine because they were living ir onstant fear of being forced to move. aid to over half of the women in our sample. These women were deemed ineligible for from friends and relatives—many of whom had also been affected by Katrina and were

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