TLC Hurricane Relief Effort

We all know the challenges created by recent hurricanes will be different from and even greater than those following 9/112. At the same time there will be similarities that the lessons learned from 9/11 will be helpful to those of you now in the position of helping the thousands of families already in your districts. If you have not recently been to the TLC web site, there is much you can download related to interventions.

We will all be learning from day to day. As we at TLC work closely with our members who are now primary responders we will share, as often as we can, their experiences and the resources they develop.
A few beginning suggestions:

1. Regarding Hurricane Katrina: the New Orleans, Cajun population relies heavily on ritual and ceremony following loss. All that you have learned about sensory intervention will apply, especially drawing, for the children.

2. This is also an opportunity for you to help all victims discover their inner resources. This is why we highly recommend the crisis intervention model developed by Dr. Lennis Echterling (click here) to guide you. These families will be in prolonged crisis, facing challenge after challenge. Moving from survivor will be a prolonged process that Dr. Echterling’s crisis model will support.

3. When you are with the children and families, ask them how they handled loss and death in the past. Within any population there will be more “Americanized” responses, and more “culturally historic” responses. You need to have these families teach you what works best for them, which is another way for them to discover they can be resources/teachers even in the midst of their own pain and suffering.

4. It will be important that you bring children recently victimized by hurricane devastation and now in your schools together as a group as a way to empower them and re-establish some sense of connectedness. Do not be afraid to play games. The children in Sri Lanka have found great comfort in group activities and, in many cases, the parents/adults have had a more difficult time because of their grasp of the long-term reality. It is safe to assume this will be the case for the parents and adults who survived these disasters.

5. Please do not assume that all children will need the same intervention. Realize that many, if given time and basic needs, will develop and/or find an inner resilience during their adversity. Please be slow to apply intense trauma intervention, like debriefing. Remember all we have taught you about being a “witness” and not assuming you know what is best. Remember our critical question of “What worries you most right now?” as a way to know what they are experiencing.

6. After the first few weeks, educators in New York City no longer wanted to talk about what happened. What they found most helpful was taking advantage of neighborhood hospitals that opened their physical therapy units to them so they could exercise, use the whirlpool (sensory), and get massages. Please pace yourselves and make sure you give yourselves some sensory enjoyment at least three times a week. You will be responding for months and will need to pace yourselves.

7. We know that what you have learned from TLC and the TLC resources available will prove invaluable. In this regard, we know many of you have found “Brave Bart” to be a very special help in such difficult times. One suggestion (thanks to Cheryl Sawyer in Texas) is to type out the story in the language of those you’ll be working with and then cut and paste over the English text. Many of the families will be bi-lingual. Identify those who could translate “Brave Bart.” This becomes another way to call upon the resources that some of these families will be able to offer.

8. Do check the TLC web site frequently as we will be updating materials and suggestions. If need be, please call us toll-free at 1-877-306-5256 for consultation. If you need an immediate response be sure to leave an evening number should we not be able to reach you during the day.

Our thoughts will be with you, and whenever possible, our resources. Many of you have already called for support.

Sincerely,
Bill Steele
TLC Director

steele@tlcinst.org
Toll-free: 877-306-5256

http://www.tlcinstitute.org
This information is made available courtesy of The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children (TLC), a non-profit 501(c)3 program of Children's Home of Detroit (CHD). If you have questions that you would like to ask our TLC Certified Trauma Specialist on staff, or would like a recommendation for a TLC Certified Trauma Specialist in your area, please call TLC toll-free at 877-306-5256 or email us at steele@tlcinst.org

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		*Donate to help bring "Brave Bart" storybooks to trauma victims*
If you are a parent or caretaker who is looking for helpful information for your traumatized child or family we suggest you visit: TLC Parents Trauma Resource Center If you are a helping professional who is not familiar with TLC we suggest you click on the following links for helpful information: TLC Parents Trauma Resource Center Crisis Intervention: The First Few Days For additional articles on Children of Trauma UPDATES FOR TLC HELPING PROFESSIONALS Typical Stress Reactions and How to Help posted 9/29/2005 Helping Volunteers: Trauma and Disaster posted 9/27/2005 Self-Care Primer posted 9/26/2005 Understanding New Orleanians posted 9/12/2005 Using Art in Trauma Recovery with Children posted 9/9/2005 Letter to Parents of Evacuee Students posted 9/8/2005 Debriefing for Hurricane Katrina Evacuee Middle/High School Students posted 9/8/2005 Defusing for Hurricane Katrina Evacuee Elementary Students posted 9/7/2005 Classroom Presentation (to help students get ready to receive new evacuee students) posted 9/6/2005 Letter to Parents (from School District regarding new evacuee students) posted 9/6/2005 "Cajun" vs "Creole" posted 9/7/05 Cajun Culture posted 9/6/05 Creole Culture posted 9/7/05 Cajun and Creole Terms posted 9/6/05 Louisiana Traditions posted 9/8/05 Crisis Intervention: The First Few Days (Dr. Lennis Echterling's interventions) posted 9/2/2005 Helpful Links posted 9/7/2005 Parents Trauma Resource Center posted 9/2/2005 Other helpful articles posted 9/2/2005 TLC Member Message Page posted 9/8/2005 ACTIVITIES FOR TLC HELPING PROFESSIONALS Relaxation Techniques for Children posted 9/12/2005 Safety and Security Activity posted 9/12/2005 Brave Bart Activity posted 9/12/2005 Mandala Activity posted 9/7/2005 Mask Activity posted 9/7/2005 Adolescent Activities posted 9/7/2005 Drawing Activity posted 9/7/2005 Cajun Symbol Activity posted 9/7/2005 Candle Activity posted 9/7/2005 Bio poem Activity posted 9/6/2005 Bridge Activity posted 9/6/2005 Collage Activity posted 9/6/2005 From the TLC Director We all know the challenges created by recent hurricanes will be different from and even greater than those following 9/112. At the same time there will be similarities that the lessons learned from 9/11 will be helpful to those of you now in the position of helping the thousands of families already in your districts. If you have not recently been to the TLC web site, there is much you can download related to interventions. We will all be learning from day to day. As we at TLC work closely with our members who are now primary responders we will share, as often as we can, their experiences and the resources they develop. A few beginning suggestions: 1. Regarding Hurricane Katrina: the New Orleans, Cajun population relies heavily on ritual and ceremony following loss. All that you have learned about sensory intervention will apply, especially drawing, for the children. 2. This is also an opportunity for you to help all victims discover their inner resources. This is why we highly recommend the crisis intervention model developed by Dr. Lennis Echterling (click here) to guide you. These families will be in prolonged crisis, facing challenge after challenge. Moving from survivor will be a prolonged process that Dr. Echterling’s crisis model will support. 3. When you are with the children and families, ask them how they handled loss and death in the past. Within any population there will be more “Americanized” responses, and more “culturally historic” responses. You need to have these families teach you what works best for them, which is another way for them to discover they can be resources/teachers even in the midst of their own pain and suffering. 4. It will be important that you bring children recently victimized by hurricane devastation and now in your schools together as a group as a way to empower them and re-establish some sense of connectedness. Do not be afraid to play games. The children in Sri Lanka have found great comfort in group activities and, in many cases, the parents/adults have had a more difficult time because of their grasp of the long-term reality. It is safe to assume this will be the case for the parents and adults who survived these disasters. 5. Please do not assume that all children will need the same intervention. Realize that many, if given time and basic needs, will develop and/or find an inner resilience during their adversity. Please be slow to apply intense trauma intervention, like debriefing. Remember all we have taught you about being a “witness” and not assuming you know what is best. Remember our critical question of “What worries you most right now?” as a way to know what they are experiencing. 6. After the first few weeks, educators in New York City no longer wanted to talk about what happened. What they found most helpful was taking advantage of neighborhood hospitals that opened their physical therapy units to them so they could exercise, use the whirlpool (sensory), and get massages. Please pace yourselves and make sure you give yourselves some sensory enjoyment at least three times a week. You will be responding for months and will need to pace yourselves. 7. We know that what you have learned from TLC and the TLC resources available will prove invaluable. In this regard, we know many of you have found “Brave Bart” to be a very special help in such difficult times. One suggestion (thanks to Cheryl Sawyer in Texas) is to type out the story in the language of those you’ll be working with and then cut and paste over the English text. Many of the families will be bi-lingual. Identify those who could translate “Brave Bart.” This becomes another way to call upon the resources that some of these families will be able to offer. 8. Do check the TLC web site frequently as we will be updating materials and suggestions. If need be, please call us toll-free at 1-877-306-5256 for consultation. If you need an immediate response be sure to leave an evening number should we not be able to reach you during the day. Our thoughts will be with you, and whenever possible, our resources. Many of you have already called for support. Sincerely, Bill Steele TLC Director steele@tlcinst.org Toll-free: 877-306-5256 Donate to help bring "Brave Bart" storybooks to trauma victims http://www.tlcinstitute.org This information is made available courtesy of The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children (TLC), a non-profit 501(c)3 program of Children's Home of Detroit (CHD). If you have questions that you would like to ask our TLC Certified Trauma Specialist on staff, or would like a recommendation for a TLC Certified Trauma Specialist in your area, please call TLC toll-free at 877-306-5256 or email us at steele@tlcinst.org