Mental Health Impacts of Community Evacuation

– La Ronge Wildfire Case Study

Presented by:

MHA - Glenda Watson

ERC – Patrick Hassler

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Outline• Summary: Lac La Ronge Indian Band Fires of 2015

• The Changing Emergency Climate

• Guiding Trauma Definition

• Community Impacts: Holistic Displacement

• Children

• Parents

• Elders

• Survivors

• Impacts faced by supports

• Health Services, First Responders – EMS & Firefighters

• Mental Health Providers

• Crisis Teams 2

Summary: Lac La Ronge Indian Band Fires of 2015

• Largest fire response in Saskatchewan history. LLRIB members from LaRonge, Air Ronge, Kitsaki, Grand Mothers Bay, Hall Lake, Sikachu, Sucker River, Clam Lake, and Stanley Mission were displaced. Evacuees were sheltered in North Battleford, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina, Beardy`s and Okemasis Cree Nations, and Cold Lake Alberta.

• Evacuation Time Line

– June 7 – evacuation of approx. 566 LLRIB health priority members evacuated

– June 10 – 904 evacuated receiving emergency social services

– June 29 – 1147 evacuated receiving emergency social services

– July 4 – 6700 evacuated receiving emergency social services

– July 7th - 7320 evacuated receiving emergency social services

– July 13th 10,142 evacuated receiving emergency social services

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Summary cont’d

• Repatriation Time Line Repatriation for all communities were

underway by July 20 and all community members were home July 22.

• Challenges The 2015 fire season began like a typical fire

season, what challenged, overwhelmed, and eventually caused breakdowns in response was the daily increase in evacuee numbers and the sustained duration of the event.

Issues were compounded by the number of shelter sites.

Smoke and fire threats did ebb and flow “regionally” – This caused groups of people to return to their homes only to be re-evacuated days later (Sikachu, Hall Lake, Clam Lake).

The Changing Emergency Response Environment

Current Climate:– Occurring more frequently

– Longer Duration

– Lack infrastructure and manpower

• Philosophy surrounding risk management

• Preparation, and mitigation

• Avoid response heaviness (reactivity) = community safety

Response: – Open dialogue to have discussion with an entire team that includes the impacts on response teams,

and community members • Inclusion of realistic self-care strategies

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Guiding Natural Disaster Trauma Definition (Harville, Jacobs, Boynton-Jarrett, 2015)

“Natural disasters are usually considered traumatic, but in fact result in a range ofphysical and mental health outcomes. The degree of exposure to a disaster is animportant risk factor for developing post-disaster PTSD” (p.2)

“More severe and longer lasting mental health outcomes are often associated withevents that involve physical injury, witnessing death or injury of others, threat to life, andproperty loss.” (p.2)

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Community Impacts: Holistic Displacement

Parents/Elders• Spiritual

• Challenge there spatial awareness of surroundings (rural to urban) (Treppel, 2015)

• Anomie – a feeling of being disconnected (Menzies & Lavallee, 2014)

• Mental:

• Transposition (time gaps, uncertainty, abandonment) of services (Menzies & Lavallee, 2014)

• Emotional:

• Undue stress experienced during relocation (Treppel, 2015)

• Physical:

• basic hygienic needs not met, lack of proper nutrition based on health needs

• Physically safe environment (triggering events through transportation, and re-location) (Treppel, 2015)

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How do the impacts of our Parents & Elders impact our Children? Children

• Spiritual:

• Challenge there spatial awareness of surroundings (rural to urban) (Treppel, 2015)

• Lack of holistic view of recovery, that is parents took a step by step process, one day at a time rather than a “whole” perspective.

• Mental (Shepard & Kulig, 2017) :

• Family routines & Activities

• No educational exposure

• Partial or full PTSD (following 6 months)

• Emotional (Shepard & Kulig, 2017) :

• Inability to understand the complexities of relocation, and or loss of homes

• Emotional neglect, parents preoccupied with post-recovery process

• Physical:

• basic hygienic needs, food needs based on age (lack of formula for babies) (Treppel, 2015)

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Impacts faced by Supports Mental Health Providers -Therapists, Counsellors, Crisis Teams

• Support staff eventually became evacuees themselves, which in turn impacted the level of familiar support offered to community members.

• “Community health resources, where available, accompanied the priority evacuees to support their physical and mental health while out of the community” (Treppell, 2015,p. 11)

Health Services -RN’s, LPN’s, RPN’s, Physicians & First Responders -EMS & Firefighters (Fullerton et al., 1992, & Scaffa, 2011)

• Identification with the victim

• Helplessness & Guilt

• Fear of the Unknown

• Physiological Reactions (Autonomic Nervous System: PNS, SNS) (Foundation of Human Enrichment, 2007)

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References• Cacciatore, J., Carlson, B., Michaelis, E., Kilimek, B., & Steffan, S. (2011). Crisis Intervention by Social

Workers in Fire Departments: An Innovative Role for Social Workers. Social Work, 56(1), 81-88

• Emily W Harville, Marni Jacobs, & Renée Boynton-Jarrett. (2015). When is exposure to a natural disaster traumatic? Comparison of a trauma questionnaire and disaster exposure inventory. PLoS ONE, 10(4), Article e0123632.

• Foundation of Human Enrichment. (2007). Somatic Experiencing. Healing Trauma.

• Fullerton, C., McCarroll, J., Ursano, R., & Wright, K. (1992). Psychological responses of rescue workers: Fire fighters and trauma. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 62(3), 371-378.

• Menzies, P. & Lavallee, L. (2014). Journey to healing: Aboriginal people with addiction & mental health issues. Toronto, ON: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

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References

• Shepard, B., Kulig, J., & Botey, A. (2017). Counselling Children after Wildfires: A School-Based Approach/Le counseling auprès des enfants après un incendie de forêt : Une approche centrée sur l'école. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy (Online), 51(1), 61-80

• Treppel, D. (2015). 2015 Northern Saskatchewan Wildfire Study. Northern Inter-tribal Health Authority.

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Thank you for listening

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Office ComplexMain Floor, 2300-10th Avenue WestPrince Albert, Saskatchewan S6V 5Z1

Tel: (306) 953-5000

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