Springfield, Mo., Monday, Jan. 9 — This Friday at 7 p.m., ABC television’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will feature its work in Joplin in October when the show built houses for seven families that lost their homes in the May 22 tornado. Hundreds of Drury student, faculty, and staff descended on Joplin for that week of work as Drury designed and built a tribute in Cunningham Park to honor volunteers and donated thousands of dollars in scholarships to high school seniors in Joplin.
Paige Nichols and Melanie Messick interview survivors
Long before Extreme Makeover descended on Joplin, a group of seven Drury undergraduates and one psychology professor were in the community working on the emotional and mental impact of the tornado. Dr. Jennifer Silva Brown developed the Joplin Impact Project based on work she did in Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast. In September and October, Silva Brown and her students interviewed and surveyed 87 Joplin area residents about how they were coping with their lives after the tornado. The purpose of the Joplin Impact Project is to gather data from survivors to see if they are suffering from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder or other stress-related maladies. “We’re trying to distinguish those who are struggling from those who are resilient and healthy,” said Silva Brown. “We also look at how survivors coped with the tornado, by asking if they turned to such things as exercise, prayer, interaction with friends or family, and use of drugs and/or alcohol. The ultimate goal is to understand which characteristics promote a healthy adjustment to post-disaster life.”
Silva Brown’s students are done coding their data and she will begin digging into the numbers and draw conclusions from the statistics this spring. “What we’ve learned from the survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has helped Joplin residents, and the research we’re doing in Joplin will in turn help the survivors of the next major disaster. We’re constantly learning,” says Silva Brown.
Joplin Impact team: (top row, l-r): Paige Nichols, Spencer Prevallet, Dr. Jennifer Silva Brown, and Alexandra Duello. (Bottom row, l-r): Morgan Merrell, Melanie Messick, Bailey Greene and Blake Herd.
For the seven undergraduates who conducted the research, it was a rare opportunity to gain field experience, “This project is a wonderful opportunity to help the Joplin community. In return, the Joplin community is enhancing my education, by giving a rare opportunity to go out in the field, interview survivors and then see the results,” said Paige Nichols.
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