Letter
Barb Desjardins

I returned yesterday from spending a week in San Antonio, working in the Baptist Child & Family Services shelters, under the guidance of Dr. Richard Brake, psychologist for the centre. My week was one of the most amazing I have spent, one I will never forget. I got permission to leave work with pay to volunteer (thank you, Thames Valley District School Board), and planned the trip very quickly (within a week), avidly watching news channels for the course of Rita, which was ripping towards Louisiana and Texas. On Wednesday before departing, I was downhearted, sure that flights would be cancelled, and so would much of Texas. The cone was covering most of the state, including San Antonio, and family and friends tried to persuade me to stay home. As hurricanes do, Rita changed course, leaving San Antonio in a safe place, my flight was on, and I was off!

I had planned to travel alone, knowing that this would likely be the best for me, aware that this kind of work is intense and consuming, and knowing that that I would personally need quiet time on my own to process all that was happening. This changed, however, on the Friday I departed - a colleague and friend left a message that she was re-routing her trip to San Antonio from Baton Rouge, where her flight had been cancelled. She too, had limited time to volunteer, and as we had been in contact before my trip, she was aware that volunteers were needed in San Antonio. I was greatly appreciative, as it turned out, to not travel alone, but to have someone with whom I could work and talk to about shared experiences, someone on the same brain wave. She would arrive the Monday after me, giving me a few days prior to acclimatize, and she a few days alone at the end, as I departed Saturday and her return flight was for the following Tuesday.

I have never done any type of work, volunteer or paid, on this large a scale, and was taken aback at my first trip to a shelter. A large factory (Levi Strauss) had been converted to a shelter holding anywhere between 300 and 460 evacuees, many whom were ‘special needs’. As per the BCFS website, “The population assigned to Special Needs shelters includes children and adults with some physical and/or mental disabilities or issues, excluding acute or several cases who would be danger to themselves or others. The most common case involves persons in wheelchairs or sight or hearing impaired, newborns and late term expectant mothers.” Many other evacuees were also sheltered here, mostly from Hurricane Rita, they arrived daily and left daily - we never know what the day would bring.

I brought with me many donations from home to provide art materials for the children and adults, and planned on using techniques learned at TLC training, and from the article “Crisis Intervention: The First Few Days”, summary by William Steele of Dr. Lennis Echterling’s presentation. This article was my most valuable tool, and the techniques the most effective for the population with which I was involved. Most people were still in survivor mode, not close to being ready for personal intervention, but needing reassurance, normalizing, help moving from victim to survivor, and guidance for identifying and acknowledging their own personal strengths. I also downloaded mandalas to color, being a believer in this technique and having already seen the power of this tool.

Upon arriving my first day alone in the shelter, I unpacked art supplies and invited children to join me, they did so eagerly, most of the kids being between 8 – 14 years old. We set up in a very large ‘rec room’, which had TVs, many tables, and donated toys and books. My goal this first day was to establish the beginnings of trust and to be a good listener. I was soon overwhelmed with kids, drawing and talking, it was hard to give sustained attention to any one child, they all so badly needed and wanted attention, wanted me to see their drawings and comment. It was clear that very few of the children, if any, really wanted to talk about the hurricane or ‘tell their story’, they were in a safe place, and wanted to stay there, understandably so. I learned very quickly to follow their leads, and to gently reinforce their survival. I also learned quickly that they were almost unanimously drawn to structure and that the larger magic markers I had brought, while attracting them, were too ‘loose’ a medium. Initially the kids did free drawings but were very reluctant to talk about these, but they opened up when colouring to survival questions about their fears and worries, about future good things and their strengths and likes. I provided large brown envelopes in which they could keep their art, and that they could decorate. Common themes in the early drawings were houses, trees, flowers, their names, but drawn over with many wavey lines, fascinating to see this repeated time and again in separate sessions and separate drawings.

Seeing their interest in structure, I pulled out the various mandalas I had copied, they were unanimously attracted to the outline of a castle, and I couldn’t produce enough to keep up! Again, this strong building was often beautifully coloured, then ‘decorated’ over with the wavy lines. The other mandalas were also popular - kids lost in time, focused on coloring and feeling safe within the lines. These mandalas also brought the attention of some adults lingering close by, not too sure it would be ok to draw or colour, but peeking around just to see. With gentle encouragement, they too slowly joined the art group, some coloring with us, others asking to take a few of the patterns away with them, to color later or in privacy. This request was always gladly facilitated, and produced beautiful work to hang on a bulletin board I named ‘Survivor Wall’. As the days passed, we would arrive at the shelter to see new work posted anonymously on the wall from the evening before. One family, who had lost their father 3 short months ago on Father’s Day from a tragic accident, began to draw on their pillowcases, proudly showing us when we arrived at the shelter. They had very little damage to their property, but were evacuated nevertheless due to lack of power and water. They found their shelter stay a relief from the grief and sadness they experienced at home over the recent death, and were not anxious to return home and face this. Consequently, this turned out to be the topic of conversation, with mom and 3 of the kids telling the story of the death. I found fabric markers and provided these the next day to this family, and a few others who took up the same hobby. We also brought in colouring books, which also attracted many of the kids and adults, either colouring or copying the images freehand to blank paper. While I typically am not a fan of colouring books, they held their own in this arena of people needing containment, safety, humour and pleasure.

After a few days with the kids, and with my colleague, we eventually left the art table with other volunteers (some evacuees and some Red Cross workers), and spent more and more time talking with adults. We followed Dr. Etcherling’s and Dr. Steele’s advice asking questions suggested in the article, and people were eager to tell their story to listening ears, describing in detail their own experience. Faith and belief in God is very strong among many of these people, and this was, in their eyes, what got them through. There was a great sense of humility, and some of the adults had difficulty taking any credit for their survival, believing their lives were truly in the hands of the Lord. We reinforced here how their strong faith and their decision to believe really helped them out. Most adults, when asked what they would advise, simply stated ‘get out when you can, don’t stay when they tell you to evacuate’. Many of the evacuees, when told to evacuate, had no money, no car, or no gas to get out. This was clearly a disenfranchised population to begin with. Others had stayed with grandparents and older family members who refused to leave, not fully understanding the threat. People remembered sounds, sights and smells, they could articulate when asked where they felt it most in their body, they were eager to talk about their past and present fears and worries, some had plans, some anxious to leave, others wanting to stay. Descriptions were so vivid, I soon realized that I was no good after three or four hours witnessing, my mind, too, was full of these second-hand images, sounds and smells, I wasn’t able to give good undivided attention, and learned to stop when my limit was reached, and return to the drawing tables, take pictures of art and kids, walk outside for awhile or leave for the day. I found myself needing more order in my own personal time, an interesting ‘side-effect’ that my colleague noticed as well. I was hungrier and thirsty (104 degrees didn’t help!) and needed to be sure I ate properly before going in.

Anger was not an emotion that was evident, no time for that; people were still getting through, actually grateful for food and shelter, many having had horrible experiences in other shelters, feeling at home here. Our ‘Brave Bart’ books arrived, (thanks to you,s Bill Steele) parents got as much out of them as their children did, they are now scattered around Texas, surely helping!
The number of volunteers impressed me: workers from many different states, Red Cross, the church, medical teams around the clock on-site running a clinic, police and firefighters. In spite of all of this help, there seemed to me to be a shortage of mental health counselors, at least where we were. Facilities included a telephone room with probably 15 lines for evacuees to call anywhere in the world free of charge, food and drink in abundance, cots and crisp white linens everywhere, bus shuttle to the city and shopping, haircuts provided on-site, an astonishing accomplishment on this large scale, and mostly evacuees feeling safe, warm and dry. The manager of Speedy Print, Chris Robinson, graciously provided us with copies of mandalas and art work at no charge! There are so many good people; it’s good to be reminded!

What would I suggest for anyone going: go with a colleague or more, provide only pencils, pencil crayons, crayons and fine tipped markers, bring mandalas of varying complication, colouring books and lots of 8 1⁄2 X 11 paper, limit your exposure to stay healthy, don’t go for too long a stay without at least a day or two off in between weeks, it’s very intense and draining, remember the type of questions for the right situation, recognize when someone does not want to talk and offer then what you can in terms of helping them find whatever they may need. Stay in touch with those you love for more energy the next day, and follow Etcherling and Steele model available on the TLC website. Leave your judgments at home and be ready for the unpredictable (shelters closing and quick moves to other shelters, for example).

I could probably write forever, and will continue to do so, on my own, but did want to share some thoughts and observations – take what you need and leave the rest, at your discretion. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have first of all attended your TLC training, but also to have been able to lend a hand, thanks to the generosity of my family, my school board and many friends and colleagues. Dr. Richard Brake was a great support and very generous with his time and knowledge, he truly helped make our stay unforgettable. I am astonished over and over again to see how the sensory intervention and questioning and witnessing truly allow for growth and moving on. Thanks from the heart!

Sincerely,
Barb Desjardins
London, Ontario
Canada

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