University of Pennsylvania's schools team up at Katrina site

A group of volunteers from the University of Pennsylvania has spent a lot of time in Hancock County, Miss., helping with the recovery from Hurricane Katrina devastation.

They've started a Penn in the Gulf Project to engage other Penn schools and get them involved with rebuilding the county together with local service providers.

What has been accomplished will be discussed from 7 to 8:30 tonight by a panel in the Hall of Flags in Houston Hall at 3417 Spruce St.

Project coordinator Connie Hoe said Hancock County is "the forgotten part of the Katrina disaster. In fact, Pearlington [in Hancock County] made contact with the eye of the storm."

During tonight's program, Penn volunteers from the School of Social Policy and Practice, the School of Nursing, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of Dental Medicine will give their assessments of health-related issues in Hancock County, including whether the water there is safe for human consumption.

Also needed in the area is a rebuilding of the mental health services. Observers noted that after the hurricane, suicide, suicide attempts and instances of child abuse and domestic violence had skyrocketed, Hoe said. There also was a surge in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Last month, more than 30 volunteers from the four schools went to Hancock to host a health fair that attracted more than 300 people.

Dental students provided dental screenings, nursing students conducted health assessments, social policy and practice students conducted compassionate listening sessions and engineering students tested the county's water supply for contamination, Hoe added.

Looking at the bigger picture, Penn in the Gulf's long-term goal is to produce a disaster-relief model that can be replicated by any university across the country. *