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Repair of homes and buildings will likely be completed long before the psychological scars of affected people heal, said Pat Gleich, associate for National Health Ministries. “People who experience and survive a disaster suffer both conscious and unconscious losses,” she said. “While the tangible losses — of property, homes, etc., are most visible — there is also a loss of safety and security, community, and status.
“In the aftermath of a disaster the primary needs of restoring a safe and secure shelter and basic services for people take precedence,” she added, “but it’s critically important that restoration after a disaster also include time for human reconstruction. The post-crisis situation must include an opportunity for individuals to begin a natural and normal recovery process through mourning and grief and as well as an opportunity for reconnection and reintegration with their various communities.”
Congregations are caring communities and provide a safe place for people to be spiritually and emotionally reconstructed and reconnected, Gleich said. “Loss can be an isolating experience,” she said. “The physical separation and isolation of being cut off from people in the community, and, the psychological isolation from community and church, can be manifested in questions of faith, or the role of God in protecting God’s people.“
The new resources are designed to explain many of the psychological issues that surface for individuals during a disaster, provide information to help identify individuals who might need professional help, give coping strategies and suggest ways that congregations can help one another through the aftermath of a disaster.
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