DMH Vol. Recruitment

Disaster Mental Health Volunteers

RECRUITING, TRAINING, AND RETAINING DMH VOLUNTEERS

John D. Weaver, LCSW

Some areas of the country have not yet developed an active DMH component for their local ARC chapters (or as part of the crisis response capabilities of their local mental health system). Single-family residential fires and other small-scale disasters happen every day. Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) teams are sometimes available to help the first responders (fire, police, and emergency services personnel) and their families. Nevertheless, each community must address the special mental health needs of ARC workers, other relief volunteers, victims, and the victims' friends and neighbors. Also, try to remember to serve the Good Samaritan rescuers (the folks who often get to accident scenes/fires prior to emergency personnel and, in effect, become first responders).

Every community needs someone to step forward and take the lead on recruitment of volunteers from the fields of social work, psychology, counseling, psychiatric nursing, and psychiatry. This person can be a Red Cross paid staff member or a volunteer and he or she need not have a mental health background. The recruiter needs to find a core group of licensed (or certified) professionals from the five disciplines noted above. Once 8-20 persons are identified, ARC can try to schedule a DMH class for them.

The American Psychological Association (APA), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and the American Counseling Association (ACA) are good first contacts and each one has several smaller affiliates (e.g., regional, district, state, and/or local affiliates). These national organizations all have letters of agreement with ARC to assist in times of disaster. The American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) and the North American Association of Christians in Social Work (NACSW) also have letters of agreement with ARC. Other contacts include professional nursing associations (many of them also have letters of agreement with ARC) and the various local professional groups in which psychiatrists are members (e.g., medical societies). Given some lead-time, these groups can use newsletters or fax and phone contacts to help identify interested individuals.

Good targets for recruitment calls, mailings, and/or visits are: crisis intervention or emergency mental health teams; college and university campuses; medical and nursing schools; state run psychiatric hospitals; general hospitals with psychiatric units; free-standing inpatient and residential psychiatric facilities; other private and public mental health centers/clinics; and volunteer centers. Still want more? How about these: rehabilitation centers; nursing homes; schools and special education facilities; civic organizations; prisons and probation/parole offices; home-health agencies; HMOs; insurance companies; pastoral counselors; human service agencies (people serving the general public in nonprofit settings); Veterans' Hospitals and Clinics; Critical Incident teams; and religiously affiliated providers.

MORE RECRUITING TIPS

1. Target those who have had it with bureaucracy, management issues, writing treatment plans, the whole business of managed care, and/or paperwork. Professionals who miss the hands-on experience of helping people (the things we hoped to spend most of our post-graduate time doing) are frustrated. Many are searching for the kind of respite and renewal a disaster relief experience can offer.

2. Stress that ARC DMH paperwork is minimal.

3. Highlight the travel opportunities, fellowship, and the ARC mission.

4. Point out that all disaster related travel expenses are paid by ARC (e.g., transportation, meals, tips, laundry, and even some phone calls home).

5. Get potential new volunteers talking with experienced disaster workers and/or show them a classic ARC video. They'll love it.

6. Put out a call for help via local papers, radio, and TV public service announcements and news releases. Repeat the public messages every time there is a major local or national disaster.

7. When the first trained DMH workers go out on a national assignment, publicize their successful experiences in local media and professional newsletters.

TRAINING AND RETAINING DMH VOLUNTEERS

Generally, the first few people identified as DMH contacts will not yet have had the official ARC DMH class. They can still begin to be of help. Have them review the basic information found throughout this website, the various other resources listed in the bibliography I've included, free books and videotapes available via the Center for Mental Health Services (formerly NIMH - see link page), and/or my book. These things will give them an overview and lots of hints on how to get started. They'll just need a lot of support with ARC protocol.

Once a number of potential volunteers have been identified, contact the training component of the local ARC chapter (or the next larger, appropriate unit) and arrange to have the two-day training course. It is generally offered at least once per year per state (or region). Larger areas offer it more often and, if local instructors are available, it can almost be offered on demand, given a few weeks lead-time.

Another option for those new DMH volunteers who cannot wait for the next local or regional class is to hook them up with any mobilization training that may be going on in conjunction with a major disaster relief effort. Whenever the need for more workers is especially great, these classes are scheduled. New eligible people who can make a commitment of time that is at least 14 days will be flown to a training site (day 1), trained (days 2 & 3), transferred to the relief site for 10 days of service (days 4-13, or more, if desired and needed), and then returned home (day 14, or final day). This format offers an excellent opportunity to learn about the program and immediately practice and incorporate the knowledge and skills.

Be careful not to loose the DMH volunteers once you've got them. Try to have a few meetings of the group each year. Use them for continuing education, case studies, mini-training sessions, sharing stories from the field, fellowship, group supervision, and peer support. Include even those members who cannot attend by mailing them the handouts and a short summary of the material presented at meetings they miss.

Offering practical programs for workers in a chaotic world.

EYE OF THE STORM, Inc.

http://www.eyeofthestorminc.com