These officers not only had the occupational responsibility of relieving suffering and saving lives under devastation on a scale they had never seen, but individual officers also had to deal with varying levels of personal loss and uncertain futures. During and after the storms, officers' job duties took them away from their families while they gave priority to helping other families. During the days after the hurricanes passed, many officers lived out of their cars, because their houses were destroyed or uninhabitable. These stressors were not generally addressed with mental health services during the first days after the hurricanes. James Arey--commander of the New Orleans Police Department's Crisis Negotiation Team, Special Operations division and a mental health professional--worked with Dr, Jeff Rouse, a psychiatrist with the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office, to establish a mental health clinic in downtown New Orleans 3 days after Katrina hit. Officers in New Orleans fifth district attended group debriefings led by either Rouse or Arey as part of roll call; however, because of the chaos and dispersed work locations, not all officers in New Orleans were able to have such debriefings. During the demands of occupational duties, it is important that public safety departments create places where officers can rest, eat nutritious food, take a shower, change clothes, and also exercise to relieve stress. Inevitably, some officers will experience posttraumatic stress disorder following disasters. When the pressure of immediate response is over, it is important to provide the counseling needed to avoid prolonged debilitating psychological impairment.