Mental Health After Disaster: Reflections from Hurricane Katrina

At the 2025 Grantmakers In Health conference, the Greater New Orleans Funders Network (GNOFN) joined partners to reflect on the long-term mental health impacts of Hurricane Katrina and how philanthropy can respond with care, equity, and intention. Now, two decades after the storm, we are beginning to fully understand the deep emotional and psychological toll the disaster took, and continues to take, on survivors, families, and communities.

Reflection 1: Emotional Loss and Invisible Grief

While the physical and economic losses from Katrina are widely documented, the grief experienced by survivors has often been left out of public narratives. Many had to carry the pain of losing loved ones, homes, and neighborhoods that held generational meaning. Feelings of survivor’s guilt, alongside anxiety about uncertain futures and displacement to unfamiliar and/or unwelcoming communities were not uncommon. These emotional wounds, in many cases, have outlasted the headlines and require long-term attention.

Reflection 2: Long-Term Impact on Children and Generational Wellbeing

In the years following Katrina, many children showed signs of trauma through panic attacks and other physiological stress responses. Today, many of those children are adults and parents, and we are seeing signs of the generational transmission of trauma. This can especially be true in cases where there was compounding trauma that resulted from subsequent storms in the region and beyond like Hurricanes Isaac, Gustav, and Ida in New Orleans, and Harvey in Houston, where many residents relocated after Katrina. These secondary effects make clear that disaster recovery must include mental health care that is ongoing, accessible, and responsive to how trauma shows up across time and within families.

Reflection 3: Community Leadership in Mental Health Response

Community-based organizations have played a vital role in addressing these needs. Local campaigns such as “They’re just sad, not bad” helped shift public perceptions and open space for healing and understanding. GNOFN’s Restoration and Rejuvenation Initiative supports frontline leaders with resources to manage stress and protect their own wellbeing, recognizing that those who care for others also need care themselves. These types of initiatives show what is possible when mental health is treated as a core component of disaster recovery.

Reflection 4: The Role of Philanthropy in Mental Health Recovery

Philanthropy has a responsibility to address the mental and emotional dimensions of disasters, not just the physical. National funders can learn from the work happening in the Gulf South by supporting locally-led mental health strategies, investing in narrative change, and prioritizing long-term resilience. In any region impacted by disaster, funders should begin by listening to community partners who understand the landscape and are already doing the work.

As we reflect on the mental health consequences of Hurricane Katrina, we are reminded that disaster recovery is not just about physical infrastructure. It is about healing minds, restoring relationships, and supporting communities through grief and growth. Moving forward, our response to disaster must center mental health as a priority, not an afterthought. That is the only way to ensure our communities are truly prepared for what comes next.