You know that it’s got to be dedication that I am still here: The experiences of direct support professionals during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and aftermath
March 1, 2007
University of Minnesota, Research and Training Center on Community Living
This report hails as heroes the direct-care workers in New Orleans who refused to abandon people with disabilities during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita despite the risks to their own financial, emotional, and physical well-being. Interviews with these workers, members of the Volunteers of America, illustrate compassion and self-sacrifice exhibited by workers while evacuating clients along with their own families. The individuals profiled continued to provide support in evacuation centers and after resettlement.
