July 23 Webinar: Responding to, and Recovering from Community Trauma and Disasters

When:
Tuesday, July 23, 2013

11 a.m.–12:45 p.m. ET

(10 a.m. CT; 8 a.m. PT)

Presenters:

Margaret Upchurch, CPRSP, is a survivor of Superstorm Sandy and a Certified Peer Recovery Support Practitioner (CPRSP) and Certified Wellness Coach for older adults at the Mental Health Association of New Jersey where she volunteers at the Journey to Wellness Center.

Marcie Roth, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Director of Disability Integration and Coordination, leads the Agency’s commitment to meet the access and functional needs of children and adults with disabilities in emergency and disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.

Daniel Fisher, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director of the National Empowerment Center, helped peers in Louisiana respond to the emotional crises following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and, based on his post-Katrina experiences, helped develop Emotional CPR (eCPR).

Willie Barney, Founder, President, and Facilitator of the Empowerment Network, is leading efforts in Omaha, NE to address gun violence as a public health problem through immediate response activities, ongoing recovery, survivor empowerment, and their recent adoption of eCPR.

Teleconference Overview:
When a community experiences a disaster or other traumatic event—whether it is a hurricane, flash flood, school shooting, widespread community violence, or terrorist event—no one is left untouched. Typically, people initially respond to these kinds of traumatic events with confusion and disbelief, followed by stress, grief, fear, anxiety, or anger. Some survivors experience more severe reactions, and, if left unresolved, these may begin to interfere with daily functioning and may develop into more ongoing problems. Fortunately, most survivors demonstrate natural resilience. Many factors seem to influence resilience and help in the healing and recovery process. Key among these are a personal wellness attitude, flexible coping skills, strong support systems, and an effective and caring emergency response.

Building community resilience and healing requires us to look through a culturally attuned lens at the needs of all community members, including those with mental health problems and other disabilities whose needs too often are overlooked in planning for, responding to, and recovering from disasters or traumatic events. While people with lived experience of mental health, addictions, and trauma can be vulnerable to experiencing a downward spiral following a disaster or other traumatic event, they also can use their lived experiences and personal recovery as a source of understanding and strength that enables them to contribute meaningfully to community resilience and rebuilding efforts. By actively engaging people with the lived experience of mental health and/or addictions recovery in providing peer support following a disaster, a community not only provides much-needed relief to those who experienced the trauma, but also provides the peer helper opportunities for healing and recovery. Training peers to support each other can empower the entire community to be active agents in the planning, response, and recovery process.  Communities and governments that work together to involve all community members in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery can lay a stronger foundation for hope and healing following traumatic events. 

During this webinar, you will hear four speakers describe how communities can work together before, during, and after disasters or other traumatic events to build resilience and encourage personal and community healing. You’ll hear the inspiring story of one survivor whose home was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy and how she, despite her own personal challenges, worked tirelessly assisting fellow displaced community members in getting back on their feet. You’ll learn about Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) initiatives that help those with mental health problems and other disabilities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, including how FEMA continues to support peers in New Jersey in helping others recover. You’ll learn about the valuable leadership role peers played in post–Hurricane Katrina community healing efforts and about the development of Emotional CPR (eCPR), a simple yet powerful community-building tool that teaches people how to support each other through emotional crisis. And you’ll hear how the community leaders of Omaha, NE, are addressing gun violence as a public health problem through immediate response activities, ongoing recovery, survivor empowerment, and their recent adoption of eCPR, which is being used to strengthen the community’s ability to respond to traumatic events.

We invite you to join us as these inspiring and committed leaders share their promising practices and stories of engagement, empowerment, and healing.

Learning Objectives: 

• Learn about promising practices that engage the whole community, including mental health consumers/survivors and those with disabilities, in disaster preparedness and response activities.
• Learn about the valuable role peers can play in building community resilience and promoting healing after a disaster.
• Learn how FEMA is helping individuals and communities address mental health needs and other disabilities before, during, and after disasters.
• Learn how eCPR can be used for emotional support and community building following disasters and individual or community crises.
• Learn how one community is successfully addressing and reducing widespread violence through collaborative community-building efforts. 

Target Audiences:

• People and families who have experienced trauma
• People in recovery from mental health, substance use, and trauma-related challenges
• Peer-run organizations
• Community members interested in supporting others after a traumatic event
• Mental health and substance use treatment service providers
• Healthcare providers
• Staff and volunteers of faith-based and community-based organizations that support individuals and families recovering from trauma
• Federal, State, and local emergency management staff, policy makers, and community leaders

Questions:
If you have any questions, please contact the SAMHSA ADS Center at 1-800-540-0320 or by e-mail at promoteacceptance@esi-dc.com.