Page 117 - Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience

86 Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilence

Synthesis

Reestablishing Safety

During a disaster, access to basic resources, such as food, water, shelter,
and medical care, may be disrupted. Clinics may be destroyed, travel may
be difficult or impossible, and communication with clergy and mental
health providers may become unreliable or unavailable. It may be pos-
sible to combine efforts to meet immediate physical safety needs with
spiritual and emotional needs. For example, clergy and mental health
providers can work with disaster relief providers, such as the American
Red Cross and FEMA, to share the resources of the faith community;
intact religious buildings may be used as sites for emergency housing,
mental and physical health clinics, administrative sites for the distribu-
tion of aid, and communication centers to facilitate families finding one
another. Volunteers may be recruited from within those communities.
Cooperation between the faith community and sources of aid commu-
nicate to the public that those in spiritual leadership view the role of
the community of faith, and the role of the Deity, as one of compassion,
outreach, and help for those who suffer. Mental health providers who
responded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have published mul-
tiple accounts of the utility of using churches as shelters, aid distribution
points, and health centers for many reasons. Churches in that area were
natural settings for providing outreach, aid, and comfort to the commu-
nity and became an important part of the efforts of community members
to organize and assist those in greatest need (Akin-Little & Little, 2008;
Smith et al., Chapter 9).
In the African American community most affected by the disaster, the
church is an important community center and clergy are among the most
respected leaders (Dass-Brailsford, 2008). In this situation, churches were
able to address needs that were unmet by governmental responses to the
disaster.
Another aspect of restoring a sense of safety is to provide accurate
information about both concerns and access to resources, without rumors
or catastrophized, inaccurate accounts that may exaggerate aspects of
the disaster (Danieli, Engdahl, & Schlenger, 2004; Hobfoll et al., 2007).
In communities that empower clergy with special respect and credibil-
ity, spiritual leaders may be the best individuals to caution survivors
about attending to and spreading stories without verifying content and
to assist those in the community with identifying and accessing accurate