Ghost of the Hurricane: Suffering Still Strong

Almost a year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, mental-health issues still remain a critical and unmet challenge for those who live in the region.

The lingering problems were ironically spotlighted this week by the plight of John McCusker, a photographer for 20 years for the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper, who was arrested by police after being stopped for erratic driving. McCuster had lost his home and all his possessions during Katrina, but had stayed to photograph the storm and its aftermath.

According to the story in his own paper, McCuster begged officers to kill him and was finally subdued with a Taser gun.

"The individual is a really fine professional who was so depressed that he set out today to commit suicide by cop," the Times-Picayune quoted James Arey, commander of the police negotiation team during SWAT and other emergency situations.

And that one incident focuses in microcosm what so many Gulf Coast residents are feeling a year after their hometowns were devastated.

from Forbes