For some survivors of the “thousand-year-flood” that drenched South Carolina in October 2015, loss or damage to homes, furnishings and vehicles were not all they suffered. Mental or emotional scars accompanied the loss of housing and possessions.
The South Carolina Department of Mental Health’s Carolina United division, with a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is taking steps to help people beyond just their physical needs. Dozens of crisis counselors have gone into the community, reaching out to people in their homes to offer a listening ear and guidance to put them in touch with services they need.
Just because someone is emotionally distressed doesn't mean he or she is mentally ill...
Many of the survivors are experiencing depression after the trauma of the flood. One woman the counselors met was in distress because her husband doesn't want to leave their all-but-unlivable house, nor does he want to repair it. Carolina United has referred her case to the local mental health center to get some help for her depressed husband. “We make the referral to someone who can provide that kind of treatment,” said Dr. Bruce Cannon, who leads one of several teams of counselors.
While they do help connect survivors with services from home repair to financial aid and more, the counselors’ main function is to assess the emotional and mental needs of those they deal with. They act as a kind of front line to identify mental health issues, before referring cases on to professional help.
Just because someone is emotionally distressed doesn’t mean he or she is mentally ill, Cannon stressed. He says that these types of feelings are normal in people who have gone through trauma such as the flood, and time will usually bring most of them out of their funk. But Carolina United counselors, whose assistance is provided without charge, are there to try to hasten survivors’ recovery with empathy, advice (often suggesting what to do first, then next etc.), and direction.
