5 minute read
Coping with trauma in Maui
BY CYNTHIA J. THOMAS, Staff Writer
Experiencing a natural disaster or other emergency can be intensely stressful long after the immediate danger is past. People may feel grief or anger over the loss of property and livelihood, have ongoing consequences from physical injury, or feel overwhelming sadness when thinking of loved ones who did not survive. Moving forward from such shock and trauma takes some compassionate support, and Red Cross Disaster Mental Health volunteers make a huge contribution by helping provide that support.
Walter Roberts of Branson is one of those volunteers. From August 24 to September 11, Roberts served in Maui, following the devastating wildfires. He was part of a team of 36 volunteers from the Red Cross Missouri/Arkansas region, including six from southwest Missouri.
For Roberts, becoming a Red Cross Mental Health volunteer was a natural extension of his training and career. A licensed professional counselor with a doctorate in mental health, Roberts began volunteering in 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, while teaching in the counseling field in Minnesota. In addition to his education and experience, Roberts completed additional coursework and specialized Red Cross training for serving in disaster areas. He has continued to volunteer with the Mo/ Ark region since relocating to Branson.
Red Cross volunteers are a community of responders who collaborate following disasters. The Red Cross is often involved on a local level with situations such as home fires, but large-scale disasters require cooperation on regional and national levels to incorporate medical, mental health, and spiritual components, along with meeting immediate practical needs for food, shelter and drinking water. Approximately 3,000 compassionate mental health professionals volunteer their skills and training to foster positive culture in shelters, listen for victims who need to verbally process the experience, and watch for signs of extreme traumatic stress in people who may have completely shut down.
Several factors combined to make Maui one of the most difficult assignments Roberts has ever been on. Devastation was widespread, quickly wiping out communities, and it hit suddenly; as Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke stated in a news conference, “The fires seemed to ignite out of nowhere.”
“It was so large and so sudden,” said Roberts, who met people whose stories included finding that escape routes were confusing or cut off. Some escaped by mere seconds as people right behind them remained trapped in vehicles; some jumped into the ocean to escape the flames, but then found themselves overwhelmed by the wind-blown smoke and the high waves. Many felt “survivor’s guilt” at having escaped while losing track of loved ones, and with infrastructure heavily damaged, it took several days for communication to be established between shelters.
Roberts’ duties included daily staff meetings with other volunteers for assignments, then checking on eight shelter hotels. Mental health professionals are a smaller pool to pull from than some other volunteers, with about 3,000 nationwide, and of course not all are able to leave their regular jobs and home duties at the same time; a maximum of 15 were on hand in Maui for the duration of Roberts’ stay.
“The goal is to help people get back on their feet and on the road to recovery,” he said. “We try to create a sense of safety by truly listening to what people have to say, and then help them focus on the present and identify coping mechanisms they can use.”
His guidelines include being kind, having a sense of humility (“on any given day, that could suddenly be me in their position”), and being respectful to each person as an individual. “We try to create opportunities for people to be the best self they can possibly be in such circumstances,” he said. “We help them find the puzzle pieces they still have left to work with.”
Mental health volunteers may also need to assist other volunteers, who can find themselves hearing gut-level sharing of difficult emotions as survivors process them with whomever is available at the moment. Mental health professionals are trained to expect hearing traumatic details as part of their jobs, but some volunteers may have trouble dealing with it. There is mutual respect among Red Cross volunteers, as well as between the Red Cross and other organizations such as Springfield-based Convoy of Hope and medical or spiritual care providers, and everyone watches for referrals that need to be made.
Even though disaster response volunteering is not easy work, Roberts encourages other people to consider doing it. Need is high for mental health professionals, nurses and spiritual care providers, but any skill set can be helpful, including construction trades and food service experience. Those who can’t go physically may wish to give financially; there is huge expense involved in disaster relief, and donations allow volunteers to do what they do. To get involved, visit www.redcross.org.
