June 13, 2008 — Twenty-four-hour residential-care facilities and their clients have special needs employees must meet during a hurricane, needs addressed Friday at a preparedness meeting held by the Department of Human Services' Residential Services Task Force.
More than 60 representatives from 25 government agencies and non-profit organizations met at Herbert Grigg Home to share their best practices, establish "disaster buddies" and get information on critical needs of clients.
Moleto Smith, deputy commissioner of planning and operations for Human Services, told the group to anticipate eight storms, with four of those being major. He reported that final inspections of shelters have been done on accessibility, building structure, sanitation and building capacities.
During an emergency the governor will declare which shelters are open, Smith said.
Rita Dudley-Grant, a psychologist from the Association of V.I. Psychologists, led a stress-reduction exercise, instructing participants on deep breathing and relaxation.
"Think and let the feeling of security and safety come into your heart," she said.
Dudley-Grant told the group that the more prepared they are, the lower their stress levels will be.
There are three phases in psychological trauma during a hurricane, Dudley-Grant said. First is the heroic phase, where one has survived and conquered. Next may come the depressed and overwhelmed phase, and finally the realism of the situation takes over.
Jacqueline J. Heyliger, deputy director of the St. Croix V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA), told the housing community leaders that VITEMA provides training before disaster hits. She also discussed the importance of residential and critical-care housing staff to get their curfew passes from VITEMA as soon as possible. Curfew is from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The curfew passes are important because once the storm passes, after 18 to 24 hours it is crucial that the workers get relief and can go to and from work easily, said Chris Finch, Department of Human Services commissioner.
An ice-breaker of Disaster Bingo got the meeting started, and roundtable discussions were held throughout the meeting with four different disaster scenarios.
"It was good to learn that many of the different agencies have begun their own preparations," said Shana Brathwaite of V.I. Behavioral Services. "The participants were really engaged in learning what to do for clients."
Participating entities were from St. Thomas and St. Croix, including Queen Louise and Herbert Grigg Homes for the Aged, Lutheran Social Services, Catholic Charities, the Family Resource Center, Youth Rehabilitation Center, Eldra Shultebrant facility, V.I. Housing Authority, Sunny Isle Elderly housing facility and Pan American Investment.
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