Violence and Natural Diasters

Working in the public school system I have come across a lot of different situations. The first situation I want to talk about gun violence and children. While doing my student teaching in a pre-k classroom I came across Gregory. He did not speak much and seemed very attached to the teacher. Everyday it was a fight to get Gregory on the bus to go home. I also noticed strange behaviors of pulling his shirt up and touching his chest. After several weeks of strange behavior from Gregory the teacher did not know what to do. One day his grandmother came to pick him up and we asked her about his behavior. She told us that while he was playing in the yard in front of his home there was a drive by shooting. Gregory was shoot several times in the chest. He could still feel the places in his chest where the bullets went in. The family still stayed in the home where this happened and that is why he did not want to go home everyday. When the grandmother told us this information we were finally able to understand why he acted the way he did. The teacher was able to get him help and help him cope better. The ICARE counselor at the school began talking to him and was able to talk to his mom to help him cope.

The stress of gun violence for Gregory is like the stress of a Tsunami that hit Sri Lanka in 2004.
According to the article in Child Development magazine. A study was done by researchers at California State University, Los Angeles, looked at more than 400 Sri Lanka youths ages 11 to 20 who survived the tsunami. Specifically, the study found that while war and disaster have had a direct effect on the youths' psychological health, poverty, family violence, and lack of safe housing also represent major sources of continuing stress.Eighty percent of the children interviewed after the tsunami had been directly affected by the tidal wave, with many telling tales of struggling in the water. Sixty to 90 percent of the children also reported war-related experiences, such as witnessing bombings or seeing dead bodies.The study found that all of the adverse experiences contributed significantly to the children's difficulties adapting. Particularly stressful were very severe exposure to trauma, loss of family members, and domestic violence. Many religious organizations and others such as the red cross have been offering counseling to the children and to all that were affected by what happened.

The tusami reminds me of what Louisiana went through when Hurricane Katrina hit. So many families were broken. Homes were destroyed and has to adapt so quickly. I was in college when it happened and it affected me with so many of my family coming from New Orleans. My mother had a house full of people for a few weeks until they were able to go out on their own. No one in my family had small children at the time. I love though that through this time people came together and it made communities stronger because of it.

References
Fernando, G.A. (2010) The impact of disaster related and daily stressors on the Psychological and Psychosocial Functioning of the Youth in Sri Lanka. Child development, Vol. 81, Issue 4.
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