DEKALB COMMUNITY SERVICE BOARD'S INVOLVEMENT IN HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS

DECATUR, Georgia -- A man in his early 40s, alone, exhausted and confused by his surroundings arrived to DeKalb County in mid-September. He had just been through the most traumatic event of his life and had narrowly escaped by taking a long bus ride from New Orleans to DeKalb County. Like many of the other Hurricane Katrina victims the man had experienced devastation, had witnessed his grandmother and primary caregiver pass away and had taken the long journey to another city. However, unlike many other Hurricane Katrina victims, this man has a severe mental illness.

Now at the DeKalb County Disaster Relief Services Center at 1 Lithonia Way, the man, Mr. Smith,* found the caring hands of DeKalb Community Service Board (CSB) staff willing and able to provide him with needed mental health and other primary services. This man and approximately 75 others per day were provided with a wide range of mental health services that mental health professionals call psychological first aid during the weeks following Hurricane Katrina. Psychological first aid is a blend of targeted mental health primary to intensive interventions for consumers, workers and volunteers at a recovery site. The essential elements range from reassurance, warmth and coping support on one end of the scale to the determination that a person requires stabilization at the other end of the scale.

When it became apparent that DeKalb County would be a major part of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, DeKalb County disaster relief agencies sprang into action. One of those was the DeKalb CSB, available to provide on site mental health counseling services at the relief centers as well as telephone crisis intervention, information and referral services through its 24 hour a day, 7 day a week central access telephone line. Following in the footsteps of the disaster relief efforts that were put into place after 911, the DeKalb County CEO's office realized the importance of mental health services in the aftermath of a disaster the size of Hurricane Katrina. These mental health services were essential in providing both victims and caregivers a wide array of services ranging from post traumatic stress disorder to mental health counseling. In concert with 51 other caring agencies of DeKalb County, the DeKalb CSB was proud to partner with the other organizations to provide a level of care that can only be achieved in a one stop shop.

Within the first couple of days of evacuees arriving to DeKalb County, the DeKalb CSB was called to South DeKalb Mall to be the primary caregiver of mental health services. The first evacuees to be seen at the South DeKalb Mall location were people who heeded the evacuation directives and left New Orleans before the storm hit. Volunteers from the DeKalb CSB's staff were able to provide them with basic care such as connecting with needed medications and health services, helping them to contact loved ones and helping them to cope with the graphic images they were seeing on television. Other staff members were able to compile a list of mental health resources for the other providers.

Following the South DeKalb Mall assistance, the DeKalb CSB moved its services to the Red Cross Center on Covington Highway. Here, a large number of evacuees had been transported from New Orleans via bus or airplane to this location. Several members of the DeKalb CSB's team were there to provide primary care assessments encompassing both mental and physical health. The agency also provided prescription assistance and made referrals for mental health treatment. Unlike the first group who came to South DeKalb Mall, this group of evacuees had been through the disaster and had more intense needs.

The final and most extensive involvement to date that the DeKalb CSB had in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort was the presence at the DeKalb Disaster Relief Services Center at 1 Lithonia Way. From the beginning, the DeKalb CEO's office asked that the DeKalb CSB be a part of the planning of the center. Plans were made to have DeKalb CSB staff people available everyday of operations. Staff were available to assist with evacuees on the large open floor area of the services center and able to evaluate more critical cases in a closed office. The staff members who worked at the center were licensed professionals including those who held administrative positions so as not to pull staff away from regular DeKalb CSB services.

"All of the various agencies involved were very much mission driven to take care of the needs of each person rather than being specialty driven," said Brenda Cibulas, Coordinator of mental health services for the DeKalb County Hurricane Katrina relief effort. "Everyone understood that there were critical needs that required the disaster recovery response team to respond immediately."

The services center saw all levels and ranges of people in need of mental health care. Many evacuees were stressed and needed help to deal with their frustration and agitation. Some had been traumatized by the criminal activity they had witnessed in New Orleans and needed help coping. Others just needed someone to listen and to make the proper referral for the needed service. And finally, there were numbers of vulnerable men, women and children with preexisting mental health, substance abuse or developmental disability issues who required professional intervention.

On another level, DeKalb CSB staff also provided mental health services to other healthcare professionals who had been through the storm but had been working as a care giver the whole time. Additionally DeKalb CSB staff members were available to provide mental health support to the volunteers at the services center who may not know how to deal with some of the excessively distraught evacuees.

"The services center was a success," said Brenda Cibulas. "Mental Health Services from the DeKalb CSB were available every step along the way. We as the mental health community in DeKalb realized our responsibility in supporting these newcomers to our community."
As for Mr. Smith, with the help of the DeKalb CSB and DeKalb Housing Authority, he was able to receive the proper mental health treatment as well as shelter at a local hotel during his stay in DeKalb County. Additionally, after days of searching the Red Cross missing persons listings, several DeKalb CSB staff were able to find Mr. Smith's family and he is now reunited with them.

To access services, the DeKalb Community Service Board's has a single point of entry system called the central access line, (404) 892-4646. This line is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week with clinicians available for assessments, appointment scheduling and referrals. The DeKalb CSB is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and works cooperatively with consumers and their families to offer services throughout DeKalb County.

* Name does not reflect actual identity.

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