Red Cross ESV Team Welcomes New Members

Norfolk Island’s team of Emergency Services Volunteers recently welcomed three new members, taking us to 14 community volunteers trained to assist with any emergencies or disasters. The new recruits took part in a one-day course in Psychological First Aid (PFA), including learning the ropes about how Red Cross works in disaster situations.

Emergency Services Volunteers (ESV’s) are essential in helping communities prepare for emergencies, by sharing information about how households and workplaces can get ready for emergencies such as cyclones using the Red Cross RediPlan guidelines. We have short information sessions available for anyone in the community to help get ready both physically with an emergency kit, as well as psychologically by learning good stress management skills – being well prepared makes it much easier to cope when disasters happen.

Our team of volunteers also helps people during and after a disaster – we help set up and support people at an evacuation centre, register people on the Red Cross registration service that helps reunite families and friends, or provide follow-up visits to check how people are coping.

ESV’s are not counsellors, but they are trained to provide basic emotional support using our Look Listen Link framework, to help people regain a sense of control when life has been turned upside down, and to recognise the early warning signs that someone may need referral to professional support. The key purpose of Psychological First Aid is to reduce the mental health impact of traumatic life events. PFA recognises that the psychological footprint from disasters is much greater than the physical footprint. Broken bones and injuries heal quickly, but minds can take much longer to process and resolve unexpected events that disrupt our lives. The loss of that sense of safety and predictability, paired with grief, can trigger many people to experience anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders for months or years after an event. Trained Red Cross ESV’s assist by giving basic self-help skills and simply being there to support everyone needing to cope with any disaster.

The local team of ESV’s has been training for a year and after completing their basic course, they attend monthly skill drill meetings and bi-monthly half-day workshops. Additional training covers topics such as helping children during emergencies and understanding children’s trauma reactions; supporting vulnerable people such as the elderly, or those with medical conditions and disabilities; understanding collective trauma and helping the whole community recover; and strategies for helping the community prepare for climate change. ESV’s also extend their skills by completing sets of online modules through the Red Cross Learning Gateway. Becoming an ESV opens up many possibilities for volunteering anywhere in the world where Red Cross goes to help. We are keen to get more of our local young people join the team, especially those interested in international aid career pathways.

For more information or to express interest in joining the team call Kate Lemerle (Team Convenor) on 52112 or email bushtucka@iinet.net.au