By Natalie Belva
As the PIE Center approaches the halfway mark of the five-year, $6.5 million Healthy Gulf, Healthy Communities project, partnerships continue to thrive.
Biologists, psychologists, social scientists, governmental regulatory agencies, county Extension faculty and non-profit organizations are working together to address the environmental, economic and emotional health concerns in Gulf communities following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Grant Coordinator Angie B. Lindsey has relied on these partners to get into communities such as Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle and determine how research can meet the area’s needs and fill gaps within the community. Some of these gaps include generational poverty, unemployment, substance abuse and the need for greater community workforce and economic development opportunities.
The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, seeks to address public health concerns regarding seafood safety and mental health, as well as assess social vulnerability and community resilience. The work is designed to help Gulf Coast residents recover and serve as a model for community recovery in the event of future disasters, Lindsey said.
“At this point, we’ve gathered a lot of the research and now it’s our job to take that research, package it together over the next two-and-a-half years and really get it out there and make an impact in these communities,” she said.
Early research included a regional forum, which allowed researchers to work with community leaders across the Florida Panhandle and Alabama coastlines to develop approaches and strategies for managing future disasters. The final report contains the major themes that emerged in the various sites.
Other research includes a study examining the psychological recovery of Gulf Coast residents and families after the oil spill through focus groups and interviews, as well as a social network analysis to determine if certain communities were more resilient to the disaster.
“We’ve developed really close partnerships and learned that these folks are doing amazing things,” Lindsey said.
As a first step in moving towards the next phase of the project, Lindsey is developing a large report highlighting the project’s community partners and accomplishments.
Although the report will contain some research and next steps for the project, the goal of the report is to show some of the best management practices and what other communities are doing by including feature articles and personal stories.
Expected out at the beginning of next year, the report “highlights several partners and communities that we work with as well as some of the leaders within the groups,” said Lindsey. “Our partners are really interested in what others are doing and how it is impacting them.”
Project leaders communicate with community partners on a formal basis every six months. In February, the partners will be brought to Gainesville.
“What we want them to do at this point in time is to really talk about what’s going to be the lasting result from this project,” Lindsey said. “We’re going to give them an update as to here’s where we are and what’s going on, but we really want to hear from them and what they think their communities need based upon the work we’ve been doing. We don’t know the communities like they do, so we really need to hear from them.”
