Thank you for being a part of WaTCH!
Why is your participation important?
Very little research has been done on this ever, anywhere. There’s a lot we need to learn so we’re better prepared in case of future spills—things like: how do communities bounce back after something like this? Are children in the community going to be more likely to develop health conditions? How can we protect future generations? No one else has ever studied this.
Women taking part have told us that they know others who were affected, and this is one thing they can do to help. We’ve talked to a lot of women who really care about their community and their families. They feel that helping us learn about the effects of the spill is one way to help all families, even if they didn’t feel they experienced any effects at the time of the spill.
Women have also told us they don’t feel enough was done for people who lost their lives or loved ones or income, and this is one thing they can do. At the time of the spill, or Hurricane Katrina, a community like ours always shows its best side—people come forward and help other people however they can. It makes us feel better at a time when we feel bad. As months go by, we can forget about how bad it was, and we lose that feeling of wanting to help.
Many women feel they weren’t affected by the spill or feel that others were affected much more then they were. We need to talk to all women so we can compare information about women who were living in the area but were not affected with women who were affected. Without this comparison, the study results will be much less valuable.