Reflections of the Storm: Emerging Hope

As the nation marked the one-year anniversary of hurricane Katrina, the clean-up work continues. This narrative recounts personal experiences of members of the Sacred Heart University faculty who accompanied a student delegation as they joined the many volunteers in Gulfport, Mississippi. The interdisciplinary group included faculty from Nursing, Psychology, Education, Media Studies, Campus Ministry, and university administration. The goal of the group was to participate in manual labor while providing emotional support for those hardest hit by the storm. The results had a profound effect on each member of the team, as each developed a sense of gratitude, a true understanding of the importance of neighbors helping neighbors, and experienced hope