Resilience Factor 5: Social Support

Disaster Survivors Advocacy Team (DSAT) is a community wide response tool in Pierce County (South Puget Sound, Tacoma, Puyallup, and as Far East as Mount Rainier) that is overseen and run by the Citizen Corps of Pierce County. Its members come from a large pool of different professions and specialties such as GMOs, non-profits, private charities, faith-based organizations, psychiatrists, psychologists, disaster specialists, child-care specialists, governmental disaster agencies, and many others. This inter professional make up is designed to fill gaps in knowledge, services, and abilities between each profession. As stated on the DSAT website, "No single agency or organization has the tools to provide all the support and guidance disaster survivors need" (DSAT, 2020). Therefore the goal is to make it easier for people recovering from the after effects of a disaster to find the kind of support, and holistic, complete support, they would need to aid their emotional, spiritual, psychological, and physical recovery during such a stressful time. I personally appreciate the multimodal structure of this group. The recognition that no single organization or committee can provide comprehensive care when resilience is such a nuanced topic is crucial.

Disaster Survivor Advocacy Team | Pierce County, WA - Official Website. (2020, April 22). Pierce County Washington Website. https://www.piercecountywa.gov/2974/Disaster-Survivor-Advocacy-Team

A support system I recommend for the specific natural disaster challenge would be Mindful Therapy Group. This group of professional counselors offer both individual and group counseling sessions. I think therapy in both an individual and a group setting would be helpful after experiencing a natural disaster such as an earthquake. Because the counselors are trained and are unbiased in leading the therapy discussions, the victim can unravel their thoughts and process their emotions with the help of a therapist. I strongly believe in this method of support.

Mindful Therapy Group. (2018). Therapy services for individuals, couples, and families. Mindful therapy group. https://www.mindfultherapygroup.com

Another support organization after experiencing a natural disaster is the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Services. I used to volunteer with this organization. They have a local establishment in Seattle, where they help individuals regain their independence after experiencing a disaster. They provide a variety of services for supporting individuals. Their website also includes information about emotional recovery after a disaster.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Services. (2021). Emotional responses. American Red Cross. https://www.redcross.org/get-help/disaster-relief-and-recovery-services/recovering-emotionally.html

NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group NAMI Groups for any adult who has suffered from mental health conditions. The groups are free of cost to participants which are designed for people who are 18 or older with mental health conditions. Each section is 90 minutes long and meets weekly, every other week or monthly. The groups are led by trained leaders. Participants can connect with each other through Zoom meeting to improve their coping skills, share experiences, and etc.

Find Your Local NAMI (n. d.) NAMI National Alliance on Mental Illness. 2021, April, 25^th, Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/Find-Your-Local-NAMI/Affiliate/Details?state=WA&local=0011Q000022G8DtQAK.

Since disasters affect a community, often those who arae affected will be able to draw strength and support amongst each other. The government, local churches, public and private organizations reach out to the community who suffered the disaster for example, the national Red Cross. Especially in poor countries, they rely to the groups within their community mainly organized by government and local churches. There are communities who will create a group themselves to draw social support from each other. When I was back home, the social support after a disaster is the immediate community members; the families affected, the local, churches, local government, and local businesses.

In Seattle we have free support group such as NAMI.org (National Alliance on Mental Illness). They have support groups for specific groups. Prior to the pandemic, they have every 2nd Tuesday the Mood, Anxiety and Trauma Alumni/Community Support Group in Boren Avenue, Seattle. I do not see this group in their website anhymore, but they have Anxiety support groups every Tuesday or Thursday and Appreciate Living Learning Circle, a social support group for young adults aged 21-40. All these support groups are now held online.

NAMI Seattle. (2021, April). Get Support. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from https://namiseattle.org/get-support/