Establishment and Operation of Shelters Serving Socially Vulnerable Populations: A Socio-spatial Analysis

这项研究调查了卡特里娜飓风过后紧急避难所和临时避难所是如何建立和运作的。该项目的重点是为社会弱势群体提供服务的庇护所，特别是那些需要特殊需求支持的群体。虽然公认的正式红十字会收容所为许多有需要的人提供服务，但令人震惊的流离失所人数要求许多非正式收容所也开放。因此，本研究试图了解为数十万流离失所者提供服务的避难所类型的范围，其中许多人是低收入者、老年人、妇女和儿童、种族和族裔少数群体以及残疾人。这项研究的目的是：(1)增加关于避难所运作以及社会和经济弱势群体的有限知识；(2)专注于为有特殊需要的人服务的避难所；(3)确定政策和实践的建议；(4)让不同的本科生和研究生参与科学研究，包括应急管理、灾害规划、社会学、家庭学和地理学的学生；(5)制作一套视频，用于参与机构的应急管理教室。为了实现这些目标，来自俄克拉荷马州立大学、密西西比州立大学、德克萨斯A&AMP的研究人员组成跨学科团队；M大学将研究密西西比州、路易斯安那州、德克萨斯州和俄克拉何马州避难所的建立和运营。该小组将使用地理信息科学来了解避难所是如何定位的，并记录疏散人员在四个州的分布情况。研究人员还将采访避难所经理，了解他们的观点，并对避难所居民进行调查。这项研究的一个独特之处是要求避难所居民拍摄“他们生活中的一天”。关注弱势群体的问题和解决方案应该会导致更有效的避难所行动。因此，这项研究的主要社会效益是减少人类在未来事件中的痛苦。

This research examines how emergency and temporary shelters were established and operated after Hurricane Katrina. The project focuses on shelters serving socially vulnerable populations, particularly those requiring special needs support. Although the publicly recognizable, formal Red Cross shelters serve many in need, the staggering numbers of displaced persons required that many informal shelters open as well. Accordingly, this study tries to understand the range of shelter types that opened to serve the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, many of whom were low-income, the elderly, women and children, racial and ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities. The research aims to: (1) add to the limited body of knowledge on shelter operations as well as socially and economically vulnerable populations; (2) focus on shelters that serve persons with special needs; (3) identify recommendations for policy and practice; (4) involve a diverse set of undergraduate and graduate students in scientific inquiry, including students in emergency management, disaster planning, sociology, family studies and geography; (5) develop a set of videos for use in emergency management classrooms at participating institutions.To reach these goals, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Oklahoma State University, Mississippi State University, and Texas A&M University will study the establishment and operations of shelters across Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. The team will use geographic information sciences to understand how shelters were located and to document the spread of evacuees across four states. Researchers will also interview shelter managers for their perspectives and will conduct surveys with shelter residents. A unique feature of the study will ask shelter residents to photograph "a day in their life."Focusing on problems and resolutions for vulnerable populations should result in more effective shelter operations. Consequently, the main societal benefit of this research is the reduction of human suffering in future events.