[StBernard] Cars More Than Toys For Some Katrina Survivors

[Westley Annis]

Cars More Than Toys For Some Katrina Survivors
Antique Automobile Club Holds Show
CHALMETTE, La. -- For many enthusiasts, cars have become more than cool toys
or status symbols in the four-plus years after Hurricane Katrina.

Cars have become a way to escape temporarily the grim realities that remain
in still-rebuilding communities like St. Bernard Parish.

The Antique Automobile Club of St. Bernard recently held its first show
since the August 2005 storm. Many who attended use their cars as a way to
take their mind off the difficulties of rebuilding.

Charles Figley, a Tulane University psychologist and expert on
disaster-related mental health issues, said cars can remind a person of
younger days. He said it's great to get a release from a chronic problem
such as the continued rebuilding.