1	A post-Hurricane Katrina poll Conducted in Baton Rouge, LA September 27 to November 29, 2005 N=1,349 by Frederick Weil Edward Shihadeh and Matthew Lee LSU Sociology Department www.lsu.edu/sociology
2	Selected Major Findings Half of Baton Rouge households housed evacuees, and 60% of Baton Rougeans did volunteer relief work, most more than once, and most with faith-based organizations. It is sobering to think what would have happened to evacuees if private citizens hadn’t provided so much relief: could government and relief agencies alone have coped? And given South Louisiana’s close ties of kinship and community, it is sobering to think what would happen in a disaster of similar magnitude in a location without these close social networks. People in Baton Rouge mainly felt compassion toward evacuees, but there were negative feelings of fear and irritation, too. (continues…)
3	Selected Major Findings, cont. Rumors of crime were initially widespread, but after initially spiking, fear of crime subsided fairly quickly. Fear of crime continued its years-long decline; and fear after Katrina was not as high or as sustained as it was during the time of the Baton Rouge serial killer. A majority of citizens are willing to pay higher taxes for recovery. They would prefer some other solution, but they are increasingly skeptical that a real alternative exists. Crowding in Baton Rouge produced substantial problems and irritants, though these have subsided somewhat over time. However, even as the situation improved, blame of government rose, especially of federal and state government. Local government was better regarded. (continues…)
4	Selected Major Findings, cont. Baton Rougeans were understandably angry and depressed after the disaster – but notably, their levels of optimism were even higher. However, they felt more hopeful about improvement in the economy than about Baton Rouge as a place to live. People who were more involved in the community [had higher “Social Capital”] initially carried a heavier load of stress and worry because they were most involved in relief work. But as time went on, they recovered more quickly than did socially isolated people. Their very involvement and social support increasingly protected them from these negative feelings. We predict that in our future wave of the survey in Spring 2006, these socially-involved people will have even more fully recovered than the social isolates. This finding has important implications both for community building and disaster recovery – and for sociological theory.
5	Half the households in Baton Rouge have housed Evacuees – mostly relatives and friends.
6	Six out of ten people in Baton Rouge have done volunteer relief work; most more than once. Most of them volunteered with Religious Organizations.
7	Most people feel pity or compassion toward the evacuees, but there are also feelings of fear and irritation.
8	People are increasingly convinced that lots of the evacuees are in Baton Rouge to stay.
9	They believe that dealing with the aftermath of Katrina is one of the City’s highest priorities.
10	The majority of people are willing to pay more taxes to help with Recovery.
11	They’d prefer cutting other spending to pay for recovery, but they are increasingly uncertain that this would be enough.
12	Most people have heard rumors about crime and social unrest; and many have changed their daily routines because of it. Still, the rumors have declined somewhat.
13	Overall, fear of crime has declined in the months since Katrina.
14	Indeed, fear of crime spiked after Katrina. But it didn’t spike as high as it did during the serial killer time, and it was lower than before the serial killer. It probably spiked higher immediately after Katrina, but our measurements first start a month after the storm.
15	Something similar happened with trust in the police and city government. Trust had risen before the hurricane and declined post-Katrina. But it hasn’t gone down to its previous lows.
16	Crowding in Baton Rouge since Katrina has produced substantial problems and irritants. Still, they’ve eased somewhat over time. In particular, telephone problems have declined dramatically.
17	Despite some easing of problems, blame of government has risen in the months since Katrina, though local government is blamed less.
18	Still, bad feelings have eased somewhat since Katrina. And more people have been hopeful than depressed or angry throughout.
19	Most people think that things will get better in Baton Rouge in the coming 12 months. However, they are more optimistic about the economy than about Baton Rouge as a place to live.
20	People who were more involved in the community [had higher “Social Capital”] initially carried a heavier load of stress and worry because they were most involved in relief work. But as time went on, they recovered more quickly than did socially isolated people. Their very involvement and social support increasingly protected them from these negative feelings.
21	Methodological Notes Survey conducted by Frederick Weil, Edward Shihadeh, and Matthew Lee of the Sociology Department at Louisiana State University. Interviews were done September 27 to November 29, 2005. Data are based on a random-digit-dialed telephone sample, representative of the general population age 18 and over in East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, who already lived there before the hurricanes. Survey includes 1,349 completed interviews. The results are weighted to reflect the combined age-gender-race/Hispanic distributions, according to U.S. Census estimates for 2004. Data collection was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. www.lsu.edu/sociology