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 Feb. 23, 2007 From Katrina to Christina You may be tired of hearing about Hurricane Katrina. I’m no social scientist, but I believe that "tragedy fatigue" sets in after a while. Even the most sensitive of people become immune to bad news. That's why celebrity shenanigans fill up so much media space so quickly. "Tragedy fatigue" gets the better of us, and we put bad situations out of our mind through mindless, relatively unimportant diversions like who’s entered rehab or shaved her head or fathered a child. "Tragedy fatigue" happens when bad news seems so pervasive or a situation so overwhelming or a predicament so hopeless. What’s the cure for "tragedy fatigue?" People like Leslie Knight, an AAHSA regional vice president, her friend Christina Karamesines and our members in the Gulf States. People who don’t give up and who show up to help. Recently, Leslie visited our New Orleans members for a week to lend a hand and spread hope. She took Christina Karamesines with her. Christina, who is from Michigan, is a massage therapist and is blind. They stayed at Lambeth House, one of our New Orleans members. A great story there of survival, revival and endurance for Scott Crabtree and the residents, staff, volunteers and board. Christina set up shop and offered free massages to our members for an entire week. Leslie says Christina has quite the healing touch. One of our leaders, John Tieperman of Chateau de Notre Dame and Wyndhoven Retirement Apartments, had suffered a brain aneurysm last September and has miraculously recovered. Leslie said John "looked like a different person after Christina worked on him." Leslie’s meetings surfaced the daily challenges of a mammoth recovery: inadequate medical services, a crazy insurance market, slow and uncoordinated government response, preparation for the next disaster. There are stories like Melanie Baker's, director of nursing (DON) at Chateau de Notre Dame. She’s serving as DON, charge nurse and occasional certified nursing assistant while her organization struggles to find enough staff to meet needs. She couldn’t even find time to make her own massage appointment! All of this occurs in an atmosphere of not knowing the long-term fate of a great city. Eighteen months after Katrina, there are still blocks and blocks of destroyed homes and businesses. Yet, in the middle of the tragedy fatigue, there is hope and growth. People like Dennis Adams are finding creative ways to capitalize low-income housing. Karen Contrenchis, the Gulf States executive, still works hard knitting together complex political pieces while living in her FEMA trailer. She, with the help of AAHSA staff, is planning the Gulf States annual meeting. The National Caucus and Center on Black Aged worked with Leslie and AAHSA’s Colleen Bloom to help relocate a nursing home resident closer to her family. Members are getting creative together on recruitment and retention of employees. AAHSA staff like Barbara Manard continue to escort religious groups to the area to muck out one house at a time. Catholic Charities, Wyndhoven, Volunteers of America, National Church Residences, National Baptist Convention U.S.A., Inc. and St. James Place of Baton Rouge are working on their strategic plans. The Association of Jewish Aging Services will hold its meeting in New Orleans in a few weeks to show their support ¯ just like they did in New York after Sept. 11. And people like Christina will continue to show up in New Orleans with healing hands to "massage" our friends and colleagues through this difficult time. They remind us that tragedy fatigue is an unacceptable state of affairs. Thank God that for every Katrina we face in life, there are Christinas to help us hope again. William L. Minnix, Jr. President & CEO AAHSA · 2519 Connecticut Ave. NW · Washington DC 20008 http://www.aahsa.org |
 Why are you a massage therapist? I enjoy helping people peel away the layers of dis-ease caused by emotional stress and pain. What inspired you to do massage? A car accident, which caused muscle trauma and a pinched nerve at C5, and head injuries, brought me to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. It was there that I was introduced to biofeedback and alternative-healing modalities. What is your personal philosophy? Think all good thoughts. We are what we think. What is your greatest strength? My positive attitude and energy. What is your greatest weakness? My father always said I was a Pollyanna and saw only the good in everyone and everything. What are your personal goals? To continue to express myself through music and other healing modalities. What are your professional goals? To promote my Deep Muscle Therapy manual and do workshops. Also, to expand Singing Sands Performing Arts into a national organization. When are you most at peace? When I’m singing and playing my guitar. How does your visual impairment affect your massage practice? It enhances my ability to incorporate intuition and touch into my practice. What surprises people the most about you? That I have a visual impairment. People don’t immediately realize that about me. What surprises you? I forget that other people don’t see with the same vision that I do. What is your greatest motivation? Appreciation for the opportunity to be of service. What do you like most about massage? Assisting people to heal. What do you like least about massage? The occasional client who is unable to release dis-ease. What is the largest obstacle you have overcome? Adjusting to visual impairment. What was a turning point in your personal life? As my vision decreased I realized that all I am comes from within. I have been blessed with a gift of a different kind of vision that I share with others through massage and music. |
 The Beacher by Mary Fox Moving rhythmically, the children demonstrated the skills learned during weekly sessions with Singing Sands Performing Arts. For six weeks, Sarah Rausch, Isaiah Robinson and Tony Banks met with the youth at seven of the sites, teaching rhythm and percussion as they moved shakers, chanted and danced and stomped. At the round-up, the children from the varied sites blended together. "This is the first time that all these children have been brought together to perform,"said Christina Karamesines, president, founder and program director of Singing Sands Performing Arts. The music program was a welcome part of the activities for the 300 children who ranged from six to 12 years old who attended the Summer Adventure Camp. "We would not have been able to have a music and rhythm program," said Allan Whitlow, executive director of the Boys’ and Girls’ Club. He added, "It was very beneficial to us." Allan explained that the arts is among the core areas in the programming for the youth at the center. The other areas are education and careers, health and life skills, sports, fitness and recreation and character and leadership. "This is a natural component of the things that we try to do at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club," he said. Impressed with the abilities of the teachers, staff at the sites said that the youth enjoyed themselves. Jackie Daniel, program director at the YMCA, said that children forgot any reticence to dancing. "I think Singing Sands made it fun and interesting enough that everyone wanted to participate. I think everyone participated and loved doing it." Herb Higgin, coordinator of the Safe Harbor Program, said the youth at the site looked forward to the weekly sessions that brought out their exuberance. "They were able to bring out a lot of the energy that kids need to impart." Singing Sands, a non-profit organization, received a grant through the Michigan City Area Schools to teach during the Summer Adventure Camp. During the school year, Singing Sands has been part of programs at Krueger, Barker and Elston Middle Schools and at an elementary school. The organization relies on monetary and instrument donations for its programming. Bruce Hastell, Singing Sands musical director and chairman of the board, made a monetary donation after the performance at Gill Field. Christina said that Singing Sands plans to continue to be part of the Summer Adventure Camp. The camp offers youth a variety of experiences. Herb Higgin said that the camp included art, computer instruction, swim lessons, an orientation to the physical education program, Presidential Challenge, the summer reading program at the Michigan City Public Library and work on team-building skills at the challenge education course at Joy School. "I thought it was a highly successful summer," Herb said. Still, the Safe Harbor coordinator sees room for growth. "We hope to expand it for next year," he added. |