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OLYMPIA -- The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) has begun the process of beefing up the ranks of crisis counselors and outreach workers who can assist residents of Western Washington whose lives were seriously impacted by the flooding and windstorm which struck Western Washington in early December.
The agency received approval on Thursday (December 28) for federal grant funding that will pay for more than 40 disaster-outreach workers who will be available in Lewis, Grays Harbor, Thurston, Mason, and Pacific counties as well as the Quinault Indian Reservation on the western side of the Olympic Peninsula.
The counselors – who will be hired and trained by a handful of area agencies under contract with the state -- will provide emotional support, direct flood victims to needed services and refer victims to mental-health professionals, if needed.
The extra counselors will be targeted at the hardest hit flood areas, according to Karie Castleberry, the Disaster Mental Health Coordinator for DSHS. In other counties not targeted to receive the grant-funded outreach, crisis response services continue to be available through each area's local toll-free crisis line.
DSHS will coordinate the new counselors' training during the first week of January.
Castleberry said the state had already begun moving ahead in the past week to get the hiring and training plans into place without waiting for formal federal approval. "Time was short, and we needed to get these services out into the community as quickly as possible," she said.
The initial grant should cover the cost of crisis counseling between early February 2008 back to when the flooding began on December 3, Castleberry said. But the agency also plans to ask for a nine-month extension of the grant because the services will be needed over the coming months as people struggle to understand their experiences and what has happened in their lives and in their communities.
"Recovery is a long-term process," said Castleberry. "Many survivors of natural disaster find themselves reliving the trauma and trying to deal with it again and again. These are natural occurrences, and people should recognize that it may happen to them and their families."
Castleberry said people who experienced life-threatening moments during the flooding should look for these signs of continuing trauma:
She said parents need to be particularly sensitive to children's post-traumatic reactions. Bedtime problems, tantrums, stomachaches or other vague illnesses, flashback memories -- all of these can signal a deeper problem that may need to be addressed by a professional.
"Parents should not be afraid to answer their children’s questions. Talk to them about their feelings and provide simple, accurate information to their questions. Let them know that you are all in this together."
Overall, she said, people need to remember that their reactions to trauma are not unusual – they are very natural feelings in the wake of catastrophic events.
"The most important thing is to realize that talking about these feelings and getting them out into the open is the first step toward dealing with them so you can move forward with your life," she said.
Outreach jobs
The recruiting and hiring of outreach workers is being handled by area contractors, with more than 40 counselors expected to be hired for the program, which could last for about a year. Agencies handling the recruiting and hiring include Behavioral Health Resources in Thurston, Mason, and Grays Harbor counties; Willapa Counseling in Pacific County, and Cascade Mental Health in Lewis County.
Crisis counseling for flood victims
To get help dealing with the pressures and aftermath of flooding and storm-related problems, please call this toll-free hot line: 1-800-850-8775
These community mental health crisis lines are also available for people seeking services and counseling:
Lewis County 1-800-559-6696
Grays Harbor County 1-800-685-6556
Pacific County 1-800-884-2298
Mason County 1-800-627-2211
Thurston County 1-800-627-2211
Kitsap County 1-800-843-4793
Snohomish County 1-800-584-3578
Jefferson County
East county 1-800-659-0321
West county 1-360-374-5011
Nights, weekends 1-360-374-6271
Clallam County
East county 1-360-452-4500
West county 1-360-374-5011
FOR ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND, CONTACT: Jim Stevenson, Communications Director, HRSA, DSHS, 360-902-7604 (Pager: 360-971-4067).
