Survivors of the LA fires will face complex mental health challenges

A quarter of people displaced by the fires identified as Latino , according to a report released January 10 by the Latin Policy and Politics Institute at UCLA .

Economic losses brought on by stressors like job loss or ongoing home repairs in the months and years following a disaster strongly link to ongoing psychological distress.

People tend to ignore their mental health to address more pressing concerns in the immediate aftermath.

Alberta flood survivors who scored above a 3 on the psychological subscale but low on the material subscale had higher levels of anxiety and depression than those with lower scores six years after the floods.

Lower-income individuals face more stressors, such as difficulty finding temporary housing, lack of homeowners insurance and more precarious jobs, than higher income individuals.

Getting people into more permanent housing is the single greatest way to support people’s well-being, research shows.

Finding stable housing, we’ve heard from interviews, is the most critical piece to self-reported recovery, Merdjanoff says.

Communities come up with creative solutions to reach those displaced by disaster.