Akula Foundation Information

The Akula Foundation was founded in 1994 as a non-profit 501-(c) 3 organization by Dr. Shiva Akula. Originally dedicated to providing indigent hospice care to the community, it later expanded to include Camp Swan, a children's bereavement camp. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2006, an estimated one-third of the population was in need of help for anxiety, depression and PTSD. People are coming back into the city, trying to deal with the changes in their lives, while still grieving over loss of loved ones, loss of personal property, loss of jobs. These people needed our help. The Akula Foundation in cooperation with professionals from Canon Hospice, who knew how to deal with grief and loss, provided the initial counseling and support services for these people and set up The Grief Resource Center to provide outpatient educational/therapeutic experiences at workshops and schools, providing information about grief, emotional issues and how to promote healthy life coping skills.