By Sujata Gupta
Even as firefighters are starting to gain ground on the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, residents there are just beginning to grapple with the emotional trauma of the disaster.
The fires have, so far, left more than two dozen people dead and destroyed over 10,000 structures and homes, with those numbers expected to rise. People returning to their charred homes or awaiting permission to reenter their neighborhoods to see the extent of the damage face tremendous uncertainty around what the future holds. Helping survivors address their short- and long-term mental health needs following a disaster of this magnitude presents a formidable challenge, experts say.
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Lower-income individuals face more stressors, such as difficulty finding temporary housing, lack of homeowners insurance and more precarious jobs, than higher income individuals, research shows. And those stressors can increase psychological distress. In her study of Hurricane Sandy survivors, for instance, Merdjanoff found that households earning between $50,000 to $100,000 were over three times more likely to report high levels of psychological distress than households earning over $100,000.
“Lower income may be associated with poorer housing quality and less access to resources. That can lead to worse mental health resources in the long run,” says Kate Burrows, an environmental health expert at the University of Chicago who was not involved with that research.