One man, many voices Paul Raymond Doom (no kidding) of Navarre stands in front of the BP gas and convenience store near Crane Cove on Saturday and protests British Petroleum’s use of toxic dispersants to fight the oil spill. Minutes earlier, a passing motorist stopped and verbally assaulted Doom for allegedly hurting business at the station, which contracts with BP to sell its fuel. Doom fears a hurricane will make things even worse. Joe Culpepper/Gulf Breeze News People living along the Gulf Coast have experienced disasters before. Every couple of years, a major hurricane will physically and economically devastate communities for months or even years.

As the length of the Gulf oil spill disaster increases, it could bring another type of destruction not always associated with hurricanes – prolonged emotional and psychological damage.

“This is unlike a hurricane where, three weeks afterward, your economy is robust and people are rebuilding and spending money,” Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Gordon Goodin said last week. “There’s a sense of hope out in front of you.”

Picou Goodin’s comments to business leaders and disaster responders came during last Thursday’s Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce monthly breakfast.

“With the oil spill, in the 7½ weeks I’ve been involved,” Goodin said, “it’s just the opposite. There’s a sense we’re going

down.”

Dr. J. Steven Picou, Professor of Sociology at the University of South Alabama, has been studying the emotional and psychological effects caused by the 1989 Exxon-Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska for 20 years.

Through his research, Picou discovered several factors that resulted in the total fracturing of the communities affected by the oil spill. He feels this catastrophic crumbling of communities in Alaska can offer valuable lessons for the residents of the Gulf Coast.

Gulf Breeze City Manager Buz Eddy describes the heroic effort members of the city staff and volunteers have put in to pre-empt the arrival of oil on the Fairpoint peninsula. Joe Culpepper/Gulf Breeze News “One of the most important things was the persistence of the impact over time,” Picou said. “People did not recover in a timely fashion.”

Picou said people’s prolonged anger, frustration and suffering bred severe distrust and depression that devastated entire communities.

“It’s a really frustrating time,” Goodin said. “A feeling of helplessness comes over you, and we’re all concerned about our communities and what’s going to happen over the next months and years, and even decades.”

Keeping a positive outlook is especially challenging in such times – particularly for business owners concerned about the future.

“I think people’s faith is suffering,” said Meg Peltier, President and CEO of the Gulf Breeze Chamber. “I’m worried about our people. We need to be proactive in providing resources to help them through this disaster.”

The Chamber is currently calling all of its members, finding out what their concerns are, and providing the information they need to get help or file claims.

Picou stresses that people on the Gulf need to stick together, no matter how bad the situation gets. He encourages residents to get involved and use their energy in a positive way by helping one another.

“The folks in Alaska stopped trusting each other,” Picou said. “First they lost trust in Exxon; then the national government; then state government; followed by local government; and eventually they lost trust in each other.

“Anger is a natural emotion,” he added, “it’s how you channel it that matters. What you want to do is get motivated and find out what you can do to help.”

The perceived under-use of local resources during the cleanup has stifled many people’s efforts to get involved, resulting in frustration and a feeling of helplessness.

“It’s like watching your child drown in a swimming pool and being told you cannot jump in and save them,” Picou said. “You must wait for the lifeguard to come.”

Picou encourages people to be available for one another.

“If you see neighbors or family members showing signs of stressful emotions, be there for them,” Picou said. “Help out any way you can – wash their clothes, cut their grass or just sit and listen.”

Sparkie Folkers of Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies (BRACE) urges local churches to get and stay involved.

“Our churches have a responsibility to acknowledge that this is not just an environmental and economic disaster – it’s also a spiritual disaster,” Folkers said at a recent Interfaith Disaster Resources meeting.

The City of Gulf Breeze and the IDR already are reaching out.

“The City is actively working with IDR to increase awareness of some of the emotional and psychological effects,” said Steve Milford, city finance director.

“That didn’t happen in Alaska,” Picou said. “We’ve got to pull together.”

Similarly, Goodin said, “We all need to pray for each other.”

Picou offered hope by saying that the Gulf Coast has several advantages over the area affected in Alaska – where he estimates 65-70 percent of the residents has recovered.

“Our economy is much more diverse; we are much more interdependent and have more resources to help one another out,” Picou said. “Also, we have much more awareness about what’s happening.”

He added that BP’s response has been much more positive than that of Exxon in 1989.

A few of BP’s latest actions include:

¦ BP America’s COO Doug Suttles visited the area on Tuesday to assure locals that he understands the frustration and is committed to recovery.

¦ The company recently set up a $20 billion escrow account to cover damages and recovery.

¦ BP has a Community Outreach Center and Claims Center operating in Gulf Breeze.

¦ Cleaning stations have been placed on Pensacola Beach next to the crossovers (between the crossovers and the roadways) to allow people to wash oil off their bodies.