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After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, faith-based organizations were among the most trusted and efficient responding in New Orleans. Purposes of this study are: 1) to understand the experience of faith-based disaster response for those organizing and executing such a massive, grassroots effort, those delivering direct service, and survivors who seek and receive assistance; 2) to understand the impact of the disaster event and levels of hope in the lives of those who provide and receive assistance. A mixed methods research design included ethnographic field experience, phenomenology interviews, and administration of the Herth Hope Index, the Hope Visual Analogue Scale and the Impact of Event Scale Revised. Study participants included faith-based disaster response staff, volunteers and New Orleans residents. Research findings were triangulated. The contextual ground was Divine Agency with figural themes of Decision Point, Social Suffering, Stranger-to-Stranger Interactions, Communitas, Transformation, and Reflection. Herth Hope Index scores among all groups were high. Impact of Event Scale Revised scores show most participants experienced significant emotional impact.

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Dr. Persell, PhD in Nursing Homeland Security, is Director of the Disaster Preparedness Program at Arkansas State University. She is a proponent of faith-based disaster response. As a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner she works for and with children in disaster preparedness.

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