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October 1, 2005

Hurricane Katrina victims are at high risk for PTSD

New York, NY – On Monday, August 29th, the coastal areas of the Gulf
coast were hit by Hurricane Katrina. With wind speeds of up to 140 mph
(225 km/h), Hurricane Katrina destroyed everything in its path. The
hurricane first hit Louisiana and traveled 200 miles from west of New
Orleans to Pensacola in Florida. The states of Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama and Florida were hit. As of today, about 1000
people are reported dead as a result of this disaster.

The victims of Hurricane Katrina have lost their homes, main source of
employment, schools, and hospitals and desperately need basic
necessities. Governor Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana has asked for
federal assistance as the crisis is “beyond the capabilities of the
state and affected local governments”.

In response to this crisis, the Association for Disaster and Mass
Trauma Studies spearheaded by Dr. Anie Kalayjian, is implementing its
Mental Health Outreach Project (MHOP) in the Gulf Coast. The MHOP is
mobilizing teams of mental health volunteers to treat
survivors. Unfortunately, at least 15% of survivors will present
symptoms of PTSD that will require treatment. The MHOP will provide
psychosocial aide to those survivors who have lost their family
members, home and jobs.

The Association for Disaster & Mass Trauma Studies has been working
for the past 16 years providing Mental Health Outreach to disaster
stricken areas such as: Armenia (Post quake, 1988), Florida (Hurricane
Andrew), California (Northridge quake, 1994), Kobe, Japan (Post quake,
1995), Turkey (Post quake, 1999), New York (post 9/11, 2001), and most
recently post SE Asia tsunami in Sri Lanka. Kindly look at our
website for details of these works.

Please help the Mental Health Outreach Project reach out to the
victims of Katrina. You can donate by sending a check to the
Association for Disaster and Mass Trauma Studies, 185 East 85th
Street, Mezz #4, New York, NY 10028. If you are interesting in
volunteering, please go to and fill out an
application or email Dr. Anie Kalayjian at kalayjiana@aol.com .

________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Anie Kalayjian is an international educator, American Board
Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress, logotherapeutic psychotherapist,
international researcher, and consultant. She is the recipient of the
Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from her Alma Mate, Long Island
University in NYC. She has over fifteen years of experience in
international disaster management and mass-trauma interventions &
conflict resolution; twenty years of university teaching experience
(both graduate and undergrad levels) and she has been in clinical
independent practice in both NY & NJ for 20 yrs.