Disaster Child Care continues work in New Orleans.

Disaster Child Care volunteers continue to serve in New Orleans as part of the FEMA Louisiana Welcome Home Center, established to help returning families in their recovery. As of April 9, 27 child care volunteers had interacted with 595 children since opening of the project on Jan. 3.

Barbara Weaver, previous Disaster Project Manager in New Orleans, included this story in her report from the project: “One morning a mom brought her young boy to be with us. He was so excited to stay and play. When she returned, he didn't want to leave. So she sat down and chatted with us for a while. She had been evacuated up ‘North’ and finally was coming back home. When we gave her the photo of her child and her, with big tears coming down her cheeks she said, ‘I don't have any pictures of my boy and me since the flood came. Thank you so much.’”

Disaster Child Care also is providing support for children at two special events: On April 11, a child care center at the Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum in Pittsburgh, Pa., provided support to veterans' young children during a "Returning Veterans Training Workshop" sponsored by Alleghany County; on May 30 volunteers also will care for children during a “Resiliency Event” in Lancaster, Pa., providing support to emergency responders and their families following the Nickel Mines Amish school shootings. Mental health professionals think children of responders may have been affected by their parent’s response to the incident, reported Disaster Child Care coordinator Helen Stonesifer.

Eight experienced Disaster Child Care volunteers have received specialized training to prepared them to work with grieving and traumatized children following an aviation incident or mass casualty event. The DCC Critical Response Childcare Orientation and ARC Critical Response Team Training took place in Las Vegas on March 26-30. Volunteers who received the training were John and Sue Huffaker, Treva Markey, Dorothy Norsen, Derrick Skinner, Kathleen Steffy, John Surr, and Samantha Wilson.

Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline