A traumatic event that exposes a number of people to the trauma that may follow can have a lasting negative effect on them unless they receive some professional assistance.
That's why the Southeast Compassionate Response Team (SECRT), a group of volunteers from assorted professions, is going to work in Estevan and Weyburn and the immediate surrounding areas.
"We want to provide a resource of professional care that people can access," said Sandy Spencer Johnson, one of 17 volunteers who are willing to provide their time and talent for the cause.
They are coming together to meet the needs of people involved in traumatic events.
The team will have interaction with other agencies such as Victim Services, while reaching out to people who may be traumatized in a workplace or public facility where a tragic or traumatic event has taken place.
"There is a gap there sometimes and it needs to be filled," said Johnson.
The team members have already been trained in critical incident stress debriefing tactics, and they are prepared to respond when needed.
The mission statement, she said, "is not to guide people through the process of grief, but rather to help them cope with the initial shock of the traumatic event. This may be done through offering a listening ear and appropriate referral to agencies in our community. Through this process of listening and referral, we hope to alleviate some of the pain."
These debriefing and/or response sessions may be of one to three hours duration, depending on the circumstances.
"There can be a lot of stress associated with an oilfield or agriculture incident. It can affect not only family but also neighbours and co-workers. School divisions already have debriefing teams, but we might be able to help them too. Emergency medical services people even have to use a debriefing system at times. First responders, fire department volunteers, they require assistance at times. This won't be a personal grief counselling service. Others provide that, but we can help people work through the initial shock of disasters such as flooding or fires or any other tragic event."
The initial contact allows the trained volunteer to defuse some of the trauma immediately following a major event.
"We help them get to a self-care base. There is debriefing and then we'll go in a bit later and help them out. It's meant to be a one-time early response service," Johnson said.
"We have all taken an intensive course in critical incident stress debriefing and we all come from various agencies. Our service is not one that is going to replace counsellors, but rather something the victims or their friends, co-workers and families can use to help them pick up some coping mechanisms," she added.
The service is provided free, except for payment for the counsellor's mileage costs if the call is outside the immediate city.
A call to 306-848-3250 gets the process underway.
There will be other operating expenses associated with the service and Johnson said any financial donations to help them curb those costs, will be appreciated, although the group is reluctant to actively seek sponsors.
"It is a non-profit operation that we hope will fill the void, and there are identified costs associated with this service, so any help on that level will be greatly appreciated," Johnson said.
The response team will provide an active short-term supportive helping process that is not psychotherapy or a replacement for it.
There are three goals the team members will attempt to accomplish, Johnson said.
First, they will meet with the group to help stabilize the situation and give them as much information as they can about what has occurred. This step does not go into detail about the event, instead the time is used to give the facts as they are known to help minimize rumours and to get everyone on the same page.
The next step will see them give self-care information to those involved in the incident to help reduce symptoms of stress in an effort to help the individuals adapt to a healthy level of functioning. With this information and resources provided, it is believed the healing process can begin and individuals can start to rely on their own coping mechanisms.
In the third phase, the team members provide individuals with contact information to access appropriate resources should they need further help in the future.
All members of SECRT come from various backgrounds in the human services field, but their work within SECRT carries no specific professional title.
They are going to be there to help because the need has been identified.
