What can be done to help?

Clearly, a natural disaster, like a hurricane or a flood, can cause a lot of stress. Teens who have survived disasters can develop emotional problems, such as separation anxiety, violent behavior, and anxiety in school (Kreuger & Stretch, 2003). If you know someone, who has been displaced, you can help by being understanding and supportive. If you are a displaced teen, you can find support through making new friends and keeping in touch with old ones. Even when miles away, technology today makes it possible for you to stay connected by IM, email, or phone. Below are some suggestions of how to keep in touch and remain friends during a move.

1. Instant Massaging
When teens are surveyed about which modes of communication they use most oftenwhen communicating with friends, online teens consistently choose IM over email. About 75% of online teens, roughly two-thirds of all teenagers use instant messaging, 48% of teens who use instant messaging say they exchange IMs at least once every day (Lenhart, Amanda ; Madden, Mary ; Hitlin, Paul. 2005; America Online 2005).

• This service can be down loaded from www.aol.com and is free of charge.
• To get IM you need a working internet and an operating system.
• IM can be loaded to windows, Mac, Linux, Enterprise, Remote, Explorer, Netscape, and Winamp.
• IM is accessible in all Fifty Unites States, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, Mexico, Netherlands, and The United Kingdom.
• Once you have a buddy name and a buddy list you can log onto any computer with IM and access your own buddy list so your contacts are never lost.
• IM is great because it is free, easily accessible, and does not lose contacts.
• However IM does requires a computer, access to the internet, and the ability to download the program.

2. Email
In the United States 87% of teens aged 12 to 17, use the Internet, which amounts to about 21 million youth who use the internet. Also in the United States approximately 11 million teens that go online, compared to about 7 million in 2000 (Weiss, Daniel L. 2005).

• Free email accounts are available from internet providers.
• Two examples are Verizon and Comcast but you need a subscription to their service.
• There are free email services that can be used on most any operating system.
• Some examples are hotmail.com, gmail.com, yahoomail.com, netaddress.com, mail.com, and many more.
• Email can be accessed anywhere in the world from a computer with internet capability.
• If you do not have internet at your house it can be used at most public libraries and schools.
• Make sure to check on the hours of operation and terms of use at these public places when using their internet to check and write emails.

3. Cell Phone or Home Phone (land line)
Almost half of teens (45%) own a cell phone, and 33% have used a cell phone to send a text message (Lenhart, Amanda ; Madden, Mary ; Hitlin, Paul. 2005). Texting on cell phones is another common method of communication for teens through the use of a cell phone. Studies have shown that teens that have cell phones are frequent users of online communication tools (Lenhart, Amanda ; Madden, Mary ; Hitlin, Paul. 2005).

• Both, cell phones and home phones, require a service plan and payment.
• Cell phones can be purchased at electronic stores or cell phone service stores (Verizon, Nextel, Cingular, etc.)
• You can get a cell phone for as little as $29.99 per month.
• Land lines can cost as little as $12.99 a month for local phone calls.