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Rebuilding Lives After Katrina and Rita
After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many families are fanned across the country and now in the process of picking up the pieces to rebuild their homes, livelihoods, families, friends, and communities. We hope these CYFERnet resources can help.
Topics:
Relocation information
Changing schools
Family resource management
Community planning for new residents
Family separation and stress
Family communication
RELOCATION INFORMATION
Continuity in Early Childhood:
A Framework for Home, School, and Community Linkages (PDF)
This paper offers a framework for communities to develop the type of services
that best nurture healthy families. It focuses on the importance of community
connections in easing family transitions between service providers.
Home and Away Fact
Sheet Series 
This Home and Away resource packet was designed to provide information
to families whose job or profession takes them away from home for extended periods
of time; to stimulate awareness and respect for families who experience this
lifestyle; to recognize the challenges associated with this lifestyle; and to
help families better manage family issues while away from home. Target Audiences
People whose jobs require extended time away from home. For example: Truck drivers
Pilots, flight attendants Sales representatives Construction workers Shift workers
with extended times on and off the job Those who are separated or divorced Military
Children
and Family Moves
Moving is a very stressful time for families and is often most
distressing to children. This fact sheet describes why moving is a source of
stress and offers some tips on how to make moving easier for children. This
publication is also available in Spanish as "Los Niños y las Mudanzas."
Military Teens on the
Move: An Internet Resource for Military Youth Facing Relocation
Military Teens On The Move web site provides an innovative approach
to providing relocation support for military families and children via the Internet.
Resources are tailored to meet the unique needs of military teens facing relocation,
to help teens play a more proactive role in the relocation process, reconnect
quickly to their new communities and positive peer groups, and develop and maintain
a positive relationship with their parents and families.
Healthy Parenting Tool
Kit
The Healthy Parenting Tool Kit provides resources for parents dealing
with issues related to serving in the United States military. The military,
working in conjunction with parenting professionals and experts at partnering
universities, has created a wide variety of materials to help those dealing
with the unique challenges of balancing family and military life including deployment
and relocation issues, and dangerous work issues. Also provides a Guide for
Professionals which describes ways to deliver these web parenting resources
in military communities.
Healthy Parenting
Tool Kit: Step Into Your Child's World
Step Into Your Child's World is a user-friendly, diverse set of
materials to help military parents with young children increase their parenting
effectiveness. It is a collection of creative materials designed to take advantage
of "teachable moments" and to inform parents about topics related
to parenting in the context of deployment, relocation, and dangerous work, as
well as general parenting information. The "kit" includes posters,
thirty-second radio and TY spots, pass along cards, book marks, post cards,
checklists, fact sheets, and Q&A information sheets.
Military Child Education Coalition
The Military Child Education Coalition provides support to military
parents in terms of making school transitions. The site offers tips to military
families to ensure smooth transitions for children facing frequent moves. It
provides parents with information on military installations, out-processing,
and worldwide relocation.
Moving
to a New Home: Understanding Children (PDF)
This article gives parents information on the effects of moving
to a new home on young children and ways of reducing the stress of change. Also
available in HTML.
CHANGING SCHOOLS
Military Child Education Coalition
The Military Child Education Coalition provides support to military
parents in terms of making school transitions. The site offers tips to military
families to ensure smooth transitions for children facing frequent moves. It
provides parents with information on military installations, out-processing,
and worldwide relocation.
Childhood
Stress
The University of Minnesota's Extension Services has provided this
article for parents on childhood stress with information on how they can help
reduce it. A lot of childhood stress is accompanied with a lifestyle change,
such as a move, or a birth of a new sibbling. Other childhood stressors may
be caused by school work or friends. Either way, despite the cause, there are
some ways that parents can help their child to feel less burdens of the caused
stress.
Children Without
Friends Series
This series of four articles addresses the issue of children who
have difficulty developing and maintaining friendships. The authors explore
the importance of friendships to children's healthy development, the causes
of difficulty developing peer relationships, and ways that adults can help children
develop the social and communication skills that may be lacking.
FAMILY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
How to Reduce Living Expenses
This is a fact sheet on how to lower the cost of living. It provides information,
ideas, or tips on how to reduce living expenses when your bills exceed you fixed
income.
Live Within Your
Means (PDF)
A PDF file; that describes how to make important purchases and how not to make
unimportant purchases.
Money 2000: A Program
to Save Money and Reduce Debt (PDF)
A PDF file; A program to save money and reduce debt formed by the Penn State
University Extension.
MONEY 2020
MONEY 2020 TM is a Cooperative Extension System program designed
to help you to increase your net worth significantly through better spending
and saving habits
My Monthly Spending
Plan: A Guide to Help You Manage Money (PDF)
Everyone makes mistakes with money, but everyone can learn to be a wise money
manager and stay within a spending plan. This website gives a detailed spending
plan you can follow to control your income.
Spending Choices
(PDF)
A PDF file suggesting the right spending choices.
COMMUNITY PLANNING FOR NEW RESIDENTS
American Red Cross
The Web site for the American Red Cross provides information on
Red Cross services and a publications area including a babysitter's handbook.
You can also enter your zip code to find your local Red Cross.
FAMILY SEPARATION
Keep the Home Fires
Burning - When the Miles Separate You
"The love between two people ideally creates the wish to give of yourself
to your spouse. It becomes a way of communication or interaction that will be
challenged throughout your life together. A strong marriage doesn't just happen,
it takes time and energy to have a strong, healthy relationship. "
Keeping It Together...
While You
This Home and Away resource packet was designed to provide information to families
whose job or profession takes them away from home for extended periods of time,
stimulate awareness and respect for families who experience this lifestyle,
recognize the challenges associated with this lifestyle and to help families
better manage family issues while away from home.
Strengthen
Relationships During Deployment, Separation
Discusses the stress placed on spouses, partners and extended family members
during periods of military deployment and other separations. Provides suggestions
from Charlotte Shoup Olsen on tips for strengthening a relationship during a
separation.
Reconnecting
with the Kids
This fact sheet explains how understanding child development can help families
deal with period of separation or anxiety.
Stay Connected
The "Stay Connected" resources for enhancing military parent-teen
relationships are part of the DoD Healthy Parenting Initiative and were developed
by Auburn University. These resources were designed to enhance parent-teen relationships.
These resources include a parent-teen activity series and a parent-teen communication
video series. The Stay Connected Activity/Education Series includes activities
that can be done at home, at an installation, or in the community. The video
series contains short messages about the importance of maintaining the connections
between parents and their teens, which can be used to stimulate discussion about
parent-teen relationships.
FAMILY COMMUNICATION DURING STRESSFUL TIMES
Coping with
Disaster
The National Mental Health Association has developed the Coping
With Disaster fact sheet series to help people cope during crisis and loss.
Contains information on coping with terrorism, hurricanes, natural disasters
and war.
Reconnecting
with the Kids
This fact sheet explains how understanding child development can
help families deal with period of separation or anxiety.
In the Wake of Disaster:
How to Cope, Help After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
This article addresses some of the issues families are struggling
with in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The article provides suggestions
on how to reduce stress and cope with grief, confusion, sadness, and a sense
of helplessness. Provides links to other resources on dealing with natural disasters.
After
the Storm: The Psychological Effects of a Hurricane
It’s a manual for parents and educators to help children
cope with the psychological impact of a major hurricane. It is geared more to
children ages 6-12 and their parents but could be adapted to other ages.
Children
as Victims of Hurricane Katrina (PDF)
This fact sheet uses the research on children affected by political
violence as a guide to how children may be affected by Hurricane Katrina and
to provide recommendations to support children and families.
Talking to Children When
the Unexpected Happens
This fact sheet provides parents with suggestions on how to talk
with their children during stressful times and help them deal with frightening
situations or news events.
Talking
with Children When the Talking Gets Tough (PDF)
This fact sheet provides suggestions for talking with children
during challenging periods of conflict, stress, or about difficult topics.
The Chid Advocate:
Helping Children Cope After a Disaster
This site provides links and resources aimed at helping children
cope after a disaster.
Tips for Parents:
Helping Children Concerned About Loved Ones Affected by the Hurricane (PDF)
This fact sheet is aimed at helping parents help their children
cope with the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina. Includes steps for coping with
disasters. Adapted with permission from the fact sheet, Children as Victims
of Hurricane Katrina, by Judith A. Myers-Walls, Ph.D.
Tips for Parents:
Helping Children Cope with the Impact of Hurricane Katrina (PDF)
This fact sheet is aimed at helping parents of young children cope
with the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina. Includes steps for coping with disasters.
Adapted with permission from the fact sheet, Children as Victims of Hurricane
Katrina, by Judith A. Myers-Walls, Ph.D.
Tips for Parents:
Helping Children Watching from a Distance to Understand the Impact of Hurrican
Katrina (PDF)
This fact sheet is aimed at helping families, not directly affected by the disaster,
help their children cope with the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina. Includes steps
for coping with disasters. Adapted with permission from the fact sheet, Children
as Victims of Hurricane Katrina, by Judith A. Myers-Walls, Ph.D.
IMPORTANT RECORDS AND DOCUMENTS
Caring for Important
Papers After a Flood
Valuable documents should be protected from any disaster. If, however,
they are damaged in a flood you can save them using the instructions in this
fact sheet.
Keeping Your
Own Medical Records
Medical records are important to every family. Careful record keeping
will help in the event you move or change doctors.
Putting Legal
and Financial Affairs in Order (PDF)
This fact sheet includes information about legal and financial
records that should be organized for all adults in the event of an emergency.
It identifies important records that should be collected. It also describes
components, importance and steps for making a will. Plans for incapacitation
are also discussed.
Other
Dealing with
Disaster: Be Watchful of Con Artists
After a disaster, con artists will be eager to take advantage of
people's pain and suffering.
For Other Hot Topics, check here.
