February 28, 1997
Natural disasters cause distress to families on numerous fronts. Most people focus on the more immediate effects of calamity. However, while families are attending to issues such as physical damage to their home or business in the wake of a flood, or financial setbacks when livestock are lost after a winter storm, the emotional impact of these events are often set aside.
Picking Up the Pieces, a four-part video/guide package, focuses on dealing with the emotional aftermath of natural disasters. It can serve as a springboard for community educators dealing with victims of disasters and is especially relevant for educators, human services professionals and groups interested in family communications issues.
The video/guide package includes four 10-minute video dramatizations on related topics and accompanying text guides which contain discussion themes and activities. The issues dramatized in the videos are easily recognizable, and the guidebook activities are useful both for individuals and groups.
Ending Isolation after a Natural Disaster (item EP-6453-NR1) (click here for more information) discusses ways in which people can counter a natural tendency to become withdrawn from others after a calamity. Activities focus on mustering the strength and discipline to turn back towards the people whom we need most. Main themes of the guide include asking for help, talking and being with people.
When disaster strikes, parents often have so many immediate worries that they might overlook how the situation is affecting their children. Talking with Children after a Natural Disaster (item EP-6451-NR1) (click here for more information) offers a short description of stress-related behaviors and direct methods of helping children cope. Topics include taking time to talk to your kids, accepting their feelings, and letting children help.
Managing Anger after a Natural Disaster (item EP-6452-NR1) click here for more information) places anger in the light of a normal, healthy emotion, and focuses on how to keep anger from becoming hurtful. Methods used in the guide include changing how you see things, expressing your emotions, and calming down.
When people experience loss of one form or another during a disaster, they often find themselves overcome with grief. Coping with Loss after a Natural Disaster (item EP-6450-NR1) (click here for more information) helps people deal with that grief by understanding its stages, giving into them, and working through them. The stages discussed include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
These items are for rent only at a fee of $10 per individual package, and are available through the MES Distribution Center by calling (800) 876-8636 or (612) 624-4900. Please refer to the appropriate item numbers when ordering.
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Source: Judy Keena, (612) 625-7047
Writer: John Winzenburg, EDS, (612)
625-6243, news@extension.umn.edu
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