Going Over Board In August 2005, the nation went into shock when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. As the storm moved along its path it caused devastation and destruction to those whom it touched. Though the storm did cause great physical damage, it caused mental as well. My mom grew up in New Orleans and had a lot of family down there. The hurricane affected her mental health; she became depressed when she heard about what happened to the city and the people of New Orleans. Health can be defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (LaJoie).The mental health of the people who suffered thru Katrina was affected by this catastrophic event. People who lived in the Gulf Coast region suffered thru a variety of different things because of Katrina. One of the worst places to be hit was southern Louisiana. Louisiana had many different areas that were majorly flooded. In these regions people lost everything that they owned; homes and mementos are two of the major things that could not be fully recovered after the storm. Most of the areas that were flooded were lower class areas; because of this the people really did lose everything. They had their lives in the houses that were just destroyed and had worked their whole life to achieve owning whatever it was that had just been taken from them. Though the loss of the housing was devastating for the people of Louisiana, it was not the worst thing to hit them. They suffered sixteen thousand fatalities because of the storm (Kessler). This is one of the highest death rates in years for a hurricane. The areas that were most deeply affected during the storm were also some of the poorest regions in the United States. Out of these areas the poorest and most greatly affected was the New Orleans parish. Studies have shown that lower income households are more likely to be affected by catastrophic events than those of middle or upper class (LaJoie). Another issue connected with poverty is race. African Americans make up a large percentage of the New Orleans area that was affected by Hurricane Katrina, because of this they also made up a high percentage of the fatality rates. The suffering of this particular group of people made it easier for them to be effected by mental illness by their surroundings. The evacuees had to move to new areas, which were generally areas they were not familiar with. When they got dispersed around the country it was not necessarily with their families. Most of the time evacuees were not with their family and had no idea where their family was. For the people in this area that is a big deal because family is an important aspect in one’s life in the south, especially in the New Orleans area which is largely made up of families who have lived there for generations. The lack of knowledge of the well being of family members had a great mental impact on the people of New Orleans. The psychological well being of the people located in the area of New Orleans was greatly affected during Hurricane Katrina. Katrina created new obstacles that the people of New Orleans had not