Learning From The Past and Planning For The Future
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT July 13, 2001 "Experience is not what happens to a man. It's what a man does with what happens to him." - Aldous Huxley LINKS AND SHORT TOPICS
LINKS AND SHORT TOPICS
A short powerpoint presentation showing some of the flooding in Houston is available. If you wish to receive it, please email me at: larlion@callatherapist.com and I will send it to you as an attachment.
A few photos of the Atascocita Mental Health and Nursing crews are online at: https://www.angelfire.com/biz3/news/Atascocita.html
SUMMER COURSE on DISASTER SERVICES AND CRISIS INTERVENTION IN DISASTERS A one credit course offered through the Counselor Education Department at the University of Wyoming for upper level and graduate credit. The course will be offered on July 27-28, 2001. See the online flier for more details at: https://www.angelfire.com/biz3/news/flier.html Also, the information about the course and registration can be accessed at: http://www.uwyo.edu/summer The course is listed under Counselor Education.
The ACISA 2001 “Trauma Across Cultures” Conference Program is now available on http://www.acisa.org.au/conference2001 The Conference will be held at the Carlton Crest Hotel in Brisbane 2 - 5 August. Post-Conference workshops will be at Warilda Conference Centre, Brisbane, on 6 August. For further information please contact:
Sally Brown Conference Connections
PO Box 108 Kenmore QLD 4069
Telephone (61 7) 3201 2808
Facsimile (61 7) 3201 2809
E-mail sally.brown@uq.net.au
The Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services-I (DMHS-I) course will be offered in Casper, WY on Friday-Saturday, September 14-15, 2001. If you want to take this course as a Disaster Mental Health Professional, please send an email for further details on how to register to: larlion@callatherapist.com The enrollment is limited to 20 participants. APA has approved this course for 12 CEUs. Other mental health professions have also approved it for continuing education.
CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS WORKSHOP sponsored by The University of Wyoming Counseling Center and The Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Institute will be held in Laramie, WY on October 12-13, 2001. There will be two workshops. One will be in Basic Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) on 10/12-10/13 and will be a certification course taught by International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) certified trainers. The Advanced Issues in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing will be taught by U.S. Navy Psychologist CDR Bryce Lefever, PhD, ABPP. Enrollment in both workshops is limited. There is an early bird registration period. If you wish to receive a printed brochure, please email larlion@callatherapist.com with your name and mailing address. More will information appear in MHM in subsequent weeks.
||| Contents: Volume 1 ||| Contents: Volume 2 ||| ||| Mental Health Moment Online |||
Tropical Storm Allison came ashore in southeast Texas as a major rain storm and created widespread flooding. In Houston, it was the worst flooding in the city's history. Over 1000 disaster workers arrived in the Houston Red Cross headquarters during the first 15 days following the flood. They were sent to many different sites (Service Centers, Shelters, kitchens, etc.) to offer Red Cross services. Thus far, over 1.83 million meals/snacks have been served to clients; Family Services opened nearly 10,000 cases and issued disbursing orders valued at over one million dollars in the first few weeks. 14,208 calls had been made to the hotline. At the time of my arrival in Houston, the disaster was at a Level 5 and the Red Cross costs were around $15 million. 30 counties in Southeast Texas were affected. There were 21 confirmed deaths due to the storm, and 30,896 homes were affected. Damage assessment had been done in 21 of the 30 affected counties. At that time there were 9 Service Centers, 6 kitchens opened and 75 ERVs in operation in the Houston area. 3493 local volunteers had responded. There were at least six shelters in operation in the Houston area. Initially, there were 46 shelters with 12, 355 people in them. 19,000 cleanup kits were distributed. I was assigned as one of two Disaster Mental Health Professionals at the Atascocita Middle School Shelter in Atascocita, Texas near Humble. We each worked half the time in order to provide full-time 24 hour mental health services to the nearly 300 residents, shelter staff and a large group of local volunteers (both Red Cross and others). Nursing staff were kept very busy with six nurses (2 from Harris County Public Health Department) providing 24 hour coverage. Hot meals were provided from the school kitchen, having been donated by numerous restaurants, grocery stores and others. Red Cross Mass Care personnel helped with the serving. Meals from the Red Cross kitchen (run by the Southern Baptists) and the ERV did not take over in Atascocita until the fourth week of the shelter operation. The vast majority of the population at the Atascocita shelter were Spanish speaking. The diverse population resembled almost a small city or village with both normal and unusual activities making up daily schedules. At the Atascocita Middle School, one client celebrated her 72nd birthday at the shelter and another celebrated her 56th. There were many children, including two newborns born there. Church services were available in the shelter, and a community meeting took place each evening at 9:30. Entertainment was provided at the shelter by several local groups including musical combos, dancers, the Houston Symphony and others. Handmade angel pins were given to the women residents. In another section of this large shelter, residents sorted and handed out donated clothing to Allison's victims. Another local resident distributed cleaning and laundry supplies that had been donated locally. Still another resident coordinated evening activities for shelter residents. The local community support was outstanding. As some folks said, "To paraphrase the words of one of our First Ladies, it takes a community to run a shelter." Disaster child care was provided at the Atascocita shelter by a group of volunteers from the Emergency Response Services Ministries of the Church of the Brethren. Each of these volunteers had completed an intensive 24 hour training course, learning skills for effective interaction with children following a disaster or other traumatic event. They are prepared to take care of tired and anxious children who are hurting from the loss of homes and possessions, or the death of loved ones. More than 1300 children had been served at five Service Centers and Atascocita by June 20. The presence of these dedicated workers helped parents and the Red Cross staff focus on client interviews while the children's needs were being met by others. The disaster child care volunteers and American Red Cross have teamed up on similar operations for 20 years. These caregivers come from more than 25 denominations. The play centers are designed to encourage free, expressive interchange where the child can be in charge of his/her play world and regain control. Disaster mental health circulated constantly among staff and clients to listen and provide information. Pamphlets, coloring books (in Spanish and English), bears, beanie babies, and other items were provided. The two nurses from Harris County Public Health provided invaluable assistance, outreach and education in the shelter. Tetanus shots were made available in the shelter for all who needed or requested them. A team from Harris County Public Health provided these one evening prior to the nightly public meeting. Community volunteers provided materials, transportation, meals and many other services for residents. Outstanding community support was provided by local churches, businesses and other community groups. They also provided invaluable follow-up support and services. The school principal, superintendant of schools, custodial staff, local security services, and other school personnel were very generous with their support, time, assistance and participation. Relations between mental health and other staff functions, including AmeriCorps, were excellent. Morale among staff and clients was high right through closing. Relations with the clients in the shelter were very good. The cooperation and interactions among functions and with clients and the local community was also very good. Some of the stress factors encountered by clients included: difficulties getting apartments and/or other living arrangements; transportation problems (most had lost vehicles in the flooding); pressures of a large group (over 300 initially) in close contact; many children and older residents; newborns; children and adults with disturbing dreams and/or nightmares. Many adults and children had either been rescued by helicopter from rooftops or by boat or had waded through chest deep water carrying children on their shoulders and/or above their heads. Staff stressors included: gaining and managing various resources; scheduling transportation; frustrations in providing needed services and others. The split shifts helped staff considerably in staying fresh. As with most disaster operations, mental health was involved in many interventions at many different levels. For clients, the ongoing and regular contact was very helpful in putting clients at ease. When language skills were not fluent, translators from resident groups were readily available and very helpful with monolingual clients (Spanish and others - there are 90 different languages spoken in the Houston area). One major defusing was accomplished with a client and was successful in avoiding further major conflicts. Staff worked very well together as a team and were very focused on assisting all clients. Community volunteers also provided very valuable ongoing assistance and services, including transportation. Shelter staff were debriefed as a group on site the afternoon prior to the shelter closing. The staff continued to function at a high professional level up through the final client and the last minute before closing. As each staff member shook hands, wished each other well and a safe trip home, got into cars and drove in different directions, it was much like the classical ending of an old fashioned western movie that ends with the team members all returning to their homes -- a job well done.
THE FEMA RESPONSE AND OTHER DATA Crisis Counseling Grant FEMA has provided a grant to the Texas Department of Mental Health for immediate crisis counseling services for anyone affected by the recent storms. Currently there are nearly 1200 disaster employees working in the recovery effort. FEMA has 558 disaster workers in Houston to assist in the recovery operation, including 118 local hires. Other agencies account for 603 employees, including 243 state disaster workers, 174 SBA employees, and 77 from the U.S. Corps of Engineers. As of June 29, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has received 23,428 claims of losses filed in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Allison. In Texas, there were more than 305,000 policyholders who had flood coverage before the storms and floods struck, protecting them economically. Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) A total of 17 Disaster Recovery Centers have opened throughout the disaster area and 13 centers remain open. Two more centers are scheduled to open on July 11. More than 20,000 people have visited Disaster Recovery Centers, with an average of 1,000 visitors daily. To date, more than 85,000 residents have registered for assistance. The FEMA Helpline has received 52,000 calls from residents requesting information or an update on their application status. More than $122 million has been approved for 53,137 households to assist with rental housing and/or minor home repairs. Even with all the state and federal aid for home repairs and rental assistance distributed thus far, there are still people who are in need of adequate temporary housing. There is a serious rental crunch in some areas, particularly in Houston and Harris Counties. To date, 30 travel trailers are currently occupied and an additional hundred are ready for placement. FEMA's Human Services continues to conduct pre-placement interviews with applicants to identify housing needs. People who may also be considered for a travel trailer include those whose homes have been inspected and are eligible for disaster housing assistance. FEMA officials emphasize that trailers are an interim solution until more adequate housing is available. Travel trailers are not suitable for everyone and are being provided on a case-by-case basis. To date, 65,000 homes have been inspected. SBA has received more than 17,000 applications. SBA has approved more than $53.3 million to homeowners, renters and business owners. SBA provides low-interest, long-term loans to help homeowners, renters and non-farm businesses recover from a disaster. Loan proceeds may be used to repair or replace disaster- damaged property that is under or uninsured. The Individual And Family Grant Program (IFG) The State of Texas has activated a grant program to help people with the cost of disaster- related needs not covered by insurance or other relief programs. These grants may be used to cover disaster-related expenses such as essential home repairs, replacement of essential personal property or transportation. The program is administered by the state and funded at 75 percent by FEMA and 25 percent by the state. The State of Texas has approved $97 million in grants for more than 17,350 households. Mitigation specialists at Disaster Recovery Centers have advised more than 5,800 applicants with information on how to make their home safer and more secure from the effects of floods by repairing and rebuilding in disaster-resistant ways. The City of Houston has removed and disposed 419,000 cubic yards of the flood-related debris. It is anticipated that the contracted debris removal will be completed by July 30. Texas Medical Center Total rainfall from Tropical Storm Allison on June 5-6 in the area around the Texas Medical Center was measured at 14.8 inches with more than 8.5 inches in a two-hour period. The rainfall caused extensive flooding to numerous structures on the medical center campus. It is anticipated that approximately 30 to 35 separate campus institutions will submit Requests for Public Assistance (RPAs). As of July 2, 17 applicants from the Texas Medical Center were in the process of submitting RPAs. FEMA and the state have established a special task force to develop a comprehensive recovery plan for coordinating delivery of state and federal assistance to the Texas Medical Center. The 40-member task force team brings together experts in the field of Public Assistance management, building assessment, and cost analysis. The task force is based in a satellite disaster field office near the Medical Center Campus. The response to Tropical Storm Allison will go down as one of the largest disasters in Texas history. Two weeks after the storm, nearly $100 million in assistance was approved for individuals and families affected. For FEMA, this represents the most amount of money to more people in less time than in any disaster in the agency's history. * * * * * * * * * * A FINAL NOTE One sad addendum was the tragic death of a Red Cross worker in the line of duty. Sharon Mateja was on her first DR when tragedy struck on June 20. She died in an accident on Wednesday, June 20, while on assignment in Humble, Texas helping disaster victims recover from the floods. A memorial service was held on Friday, June 22 at Kitchen 7 where she had worked as a Mass Care Technician. A minute of silence was observed in her memory at headquarters the following Tuesday. Mental health professionals attended the memorial and were available for those staff who wished to discuss their feelings and concerns. Sharon Mateja is survived by her husband, John Mateja of Sedalia, MO, three sons, her mother Margaret Maggard, and other extended family members. ********************************************************************************************** ********************************************************************************************** To search for books on disasters and disaster mental health topics and purchase them online, go to the following url: https://www.angelfire.com/biz/odochartaigh/searchbooks.html ********************************************************************************************** *********************************************************************************************** Contact your local Mental Health Center or check the yellow pages for counselors, psychologists, therapists, and other Mental health Professionals in your area for further information. ***************************************************************************************** George W. Doherty O'Dochartaigh Associates Box 786 Laramie, WY 82073-0786 MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT Online: https://www.angelfire.com/biz3/news
