Statement of the Problem The research question in the article is whether or not providing school age children with protective factors and coping skills after a natural disaster assist them positively through the trauma they are experiencing. Children that are receiving school based trainings through group treatment by using the Journey of Hope (JoH) intervention plan are being looked at to determine whether it has effective strategies in assisting them. In April 2011, a major outbreak of tornados hit Alabama. Tuscaloosa was a disaster area after it was hit by an EF4 tornado that killed numerous people and put the community in total shambles. Numerous children survived the tornado, seen the aftermath of devastation left remaining. Countless families lost their home, car and all their personal possessions. Some families did experience a loss of a loved one or a pet due to the fury of the large tornado. …show more content…
According to the article, the majority of young people will experience some form of emotional or physical reaction after an acute event such as a natural disaster (Powell & Thompson, 2016, p. 539). As a result, numerous children have emotional problems such as feelings of distress, anxiety, guiltiness, depression and anger after a natural disaster event. The Journey of Hope intervention provides different school group activities in hopes of providing a secure environment to offer positive treatment for the children. Thus, the treatment involves three different group work areas which are stabilizing emotions, providing protective factors to minimize risk factors in relationships and positive coping strategies. Consequently, the research was done to determine if the JoH program was beneficial to support children whom have experienced a natural
According to the article The Joplin Tornado: The Evil Swirling Darkness it states,”Instead, they speak of the power of their faith, the strength of their community, and the generosity of the thousands of people from around the country who came to help heal their wounded city.” This is saying that they were happy that people came and helped them to persevere and rebuild their town. A Storm Chaser’s First Hand Account on the Joplin Tornado explains,“I'm watching a pick-up truck loaded with supplies and ladders--it's a local grassroots effort. That's what America's about. People helping people. That's what we're seeing here. It's not people waiting for government aid, even though there's going to be lots of people that need it. We've just got grassroots efforts of people pouring in and helping.” This shows that the people were helping those in need, and that they weren’t waiting for the government to come and help them rebuild they did it on their own. Finally Jeff Piotrowski says,”The way we got people out was that the people that came in there, they started picking up their family members and loading them into trucks and driving them to the only hospital left in Joplin. That's how we got people out of here.” He is telling us that family members and other people help each other, and help to bring back the people from their
Conner, Michael G. “Coping and Surviving Violent and Traumatic Events.” Crisis Counseling. 24 Aug 2011. Web.
middle of paper ... ... The. “Hurricane Andrew: The Human Side of Recovery.” Disaster Recovery Journal, System Support Inc. 1 Sept. 2001. Web.
Natural disaster can be traumatic events that have a huge impact on the mental health of communities often resulting in an increase in mental health needs that don’t get met. In 2005, one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. History, Hurricane Katrina, hit the states of Louisiana and Mississippi affecting 90,000 square miles. In addition to the 2000 people killed and million displaced as a result of the Hurricane, a significant number of people, according to multiple studies, suffered and continue to suffer from mental health issues including stress, anxiety, depression and PTSD. After the Hurricane, communities were both physically and emotionally devastated leaving individuals without loved ones, homes, belongings or jobs (Rhodes, J., Chan, C., Paxson, C., Rouse, C. E., Waters, M. and Fussell, E., 2010. p. 238). The Gulf Coast, whose mental health system had been obliterated by the Hurricane, was in desperation of mental health services in order to prevent chaos and initiate recovery immediately. The U.S. government did not provide sufficient services; thus, illustrating how the affected communities’ mental health needs weren’t being met and continue to not be met today. The survivors of Hurricane Katrina did not receive sufficient mental health services due to lack of government action and lack of programs with the capacity to assist large numbers of people which resulted in the individuals and communities affected to endure homelessness, poverty, and mental health issues even till this day.
helping survivors create changes that they have determined are important to them, and that lead to their increased wellbeing. Accordingly, these efforts will be cataloged by group facilitators to demonstrate the positive short-term outcomes that have been shown to lead to longer-term impacts on the safety and well-being of survivors.
The article, School-Based Group Interventions for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence, contains information about children who are exposed to the trauma of domestic violence have an increase tendency to experience complications with emotional and physical behavior issues, academic functioning, and lack of social skills. Children who are exposed to the trauma of domestic violence are provided care from mental health practitioners in schools. Such examples include school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers, so with the guidance of these mental health practitioners, they can direct children with services like group counseling interventions that are structured exercises and play therapy. Many schools provide access to intervention services for all children because many children may not have access to resources outside of the school settings. The article provides six objectives
children faced with the trauma of loss, they are also faced with a myriad of other
The Circle of Courage identifies four universal needs of all children: belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity. When these needs are met, children grow and thrive. But when these growth needs are frustrated, multiple problems follow. Circle of Courage model is for creating environments in which all children can thrive. It also defines problems of youth in terms of strengths and developmental needs. These principles are grounded in resilience science and positive psychology. The Circle of Courage provides a unifying theme to various strength-based interventions (Brendtro, Brokenleg, & Bockern, 2005:1).
A tornado struck Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011 at around 5:40 pm. With a population around 50,559, it killed 161 people and injured approximately 1,100 people. The cost was an estimated $2.8 billion in damage. The American taxpayers had to give about $500 million in recovery money. This made it the deadliest tornado since 1950, which was when modern recordkeeping began. Since it was an EF5 tornado, it destroyed everything in its path. The city was ruined with only piles of debris left. It was a half-mile wide when it hit Joplin and grew to three-quarters of a mile wide. It destroyed nearly 7,000 homes in Joplin and damaged hundreds more. It covered over 1,800 acres of land. The warnings that the Joplin residents received were through three different ways. The tornado warning that was sent out for Joplin’s county was from Jasper County Emergency Operations Center (JCEOC) and they claim that the first siren went off at 5:11 pm. Two other warnings for the Joplin residents was they saw the tornado heading their direction, and the media coverage which was all local electronic media switched to wall-to-wall coverage seeing live footage of the tornado.
Wassell, D. B. & Iain, S. C. (2002). Adolescence : Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers .
Providing advocacy and support to survivors and their allies through a coordinated community response effort” (Think S.A.F.E).
At a stage like this, and feeling this way can be dangerous for a young child’s development. For example, On the ABC show called “The Family”, young Adam was kidnapped during his mother’s rally to promote becoming the mayor. In this situation, his kidnapping affected the whole family in traumatic ways. It effected Adam tremendously because he was only 8-years-old during the kidnapping. Adam would hope that his family would find him. But, as time went on he realized he would never be found (“Sweet Jane” The Family, ABC, Television). Adam was never found because he got sick and passed while he was being held captive. There was another child with him, named Ben, which was also being held captive. Ben was finally able to escape from his captor. When a child loses hope, as Adam did, they never develop a healthy level of hopeful thinking (Wilner, 2011). Another example of a child feeling helpless after a traumatic event is myself. After my aunt passed away, I felt like there was no one to explain or help me with the pain I had and saw (Julien, 2016). My mother, sister, and I would always go to my aunt’s house, in Miami, for the summer. My mother, sister, and I always had a fantastic time with her. Then when I found out she passed, I could not help but to think what her children were going through. When your own mother dies, and you are at a young
The life course and systems perspective provides building blocks for understanding positive development during middle childhood. As parents and social workers, we must recognize that resilience is seldom an instinctive characteristic; rather, it is a process that is facilitated by influences within the child’s surrounding. Research suggest that high-risk behaviors among children increases when children perceives declining family involvement and community supports. Therefore, the primary goal of parents and professionals is to dedicate to the child’s well-being positive internal and external supports that promote maximal protective factors, while minimizing risk factors for optimal developmental transitions. Chapter 5 of Elizabeth D. Hutchinson, Dimensions of Human Behavior The Changing Life Course 3rd, 2008.
The ideas of this article intrigued me because of the information presented in the beginning paragraphs. This article elaborates upon how important the ability of being able to distinguish between positive and negative emotions is. Through the faces presented in the start of the article, I learned that affective development “generally precedes cognitive and behavioral development, as children experience emotions and react to them long before they are able to verbalize or cope. However, social and emotional competencies do not unfold automatically; rather they are strongly influenced by the child’s early learning environment” (Kramer, Caldarella, Christensen & Shatzer 2010). As an educator, I feel as though this is a pertinent piece of important information. Oftentimes students will view school as their safe-haven, and, with all the struggles that they are facing at home, emotions are let loose in the wrong ways. This social-emotional learning program reportedly help...
One in four children have witnessed a violent act (Adams, 2013), and 15 million children in the United States live in poverty (NCCP, date). It has been shown through a multitude of studies that trauma, and poverty have a significant impact on children. It is crucial for educators to take this into consideration when developing curriculum, and teaching in classrooms that are filled with students from various socioeconomic status ' and backgrounds. Educators can support students who come from poverty, and students who have experienced trauma by developing strong student-teacher relationships with their students, creating a safe, welcoming, inclusive classroom environment, and setting high expectations for each and every student.