The BP Catastrophe and Sociological Practice Mitigating Community Impacts through Peer-Listener Training

Abstract

The catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has caused significant ecological and community damage. A series of complex economic, social, and mental-health impacts rapidly emerged as a significant source of distress for communities throughout the Northern Gulf Coast. As acute forms of social pathology, including suicides, became increasingly visible, we implemented a peer listener-training program in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Based on a mitigation strategy developed in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, we offered the program 26 times and trained over 600 peer listeners in 2010. As the impacts of the BP catastrophe persist, the peer listener program provides a sociological practice intervention available to Gulf Coast communities for reducing community and mental health problems.