Hurricane Sandy and accepting help from others

Today in class we discussed the space of "encounters" within development and we were challenged to re-evaluate our own assumptions and understandings about our relationship as development volunteers/workers to the recipients of our organization's works. This discussion brought to mind a recent article I read in Esquire magazine that focused on interviewing residents of Breezy Point, which exists on a small peninsula in New York, and was the town hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy. (You can find an abridged article and video online here.)

What's most interesting about Breezy Point is that it is a small, tight-knit community composed primarily of policemen, firemen, teachers, and their children--civic servants and people who make their livelihood from helping others. However, when they are put in a position of need, they're confronted with feelings of unease and uncertainty as they become recipients of aid and volunteer work from outsiders in rebuilding their community. In the article, their feelings are described as:

The funny thing is, the Breezy people are a little standoffish about being helped. They all notice it...the standoffishness goes deeper than mere suspicion of outsiders. In general, the people of Breezy Point have mixed feelings about being helped. The usual explanation is that they themselves are a community of first responders, firemen and policemen, conservative and self-reliant people who...continue to think of themselves as people who don't take handouts.

 These feelings and responses are incredibly relevant to our discussion today, and Professor Talwalker's discussion in  her article regarding prosocial behavior. Before the hurricane, the residents of Breezy Point are clearly identifiable as "upper-class" according to the metrics described in the article, and their relationship to the outside world through their professions (policemen, firefighters, etc.) is similar to that of aid workers and volunteers--a one-sided relationship of giving. After the hurricane, they are placed in a position of uncertainty, moving closer or perhaps even into the "lower-class" category, and their relationship with the outside world becomes increasingly complex. Their feelings and value of independence are challenged by their reliance both on each other and outside volunteers as they themselves become aid recipients.

The article further delves into the emotions and reactions of Breezy Point residents to the aid workers and FEMA representatives that enter their community, which are characterized largely as ambivalent and even unwelcoming. When placed on the other side of the one-sided relationships as the receiver, the residents feel beholden and are put into a position that seems to deny their own efficacy.

Overall, I thought this article was really interesting and relevant to today's discussion and the reading. I especially thought the insight from the reactions of the Breezy Point community might help to inform our own expectations and experiences as we prepare for our practice experiences this summer, helping us consider the relationships we form and perhaps how we would respond if our roles were reversed.

Sources:
1. Richardson, John H. (March 2013). The Neighborhood. Esquire, 159(3), 192-202.

2. Talwalker, Clare (2012). What Kind of Global Citizen is the Student Volunteer?. Journal of Global Citizenship & Equity Education, 2(2).