I live outside Savannah, Georgia and many of us in our area, as well as, others up and down the coast have just experienced Hurricane Matthew. He left much devastation and damage. Taking down power lines, destroying trees and beaches, flooding areas, damaging homes, changing our daily lives…..we were just happy to see him go. During this time of uncertainty, Matthew actually encouraged the best side of many people to join together, help a neighbor or stranger, open their homes for hot showers and meals, and just pull together through this difficult time. Many people had to evacuate their homes, not knowing what they were coming back to of if they would have a home at all. Shelters were full, schools and childcare centers were closed, and things just changed.
With changes we often feel fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and may even look forward to what is ahead and the challenges. So some of your fears are definitely concerns for your children and those in your care. It may take awhile to adjust and here is a great resource to help The National Child Traumatic Stress Network provides a fact sheet “Parent Guidelines for Helping Children After a Hurricane”. This guide provides some tips to help you deal with what you may be feeling and especially strategies for helping your children. Please visit http://www.hcpss.org/f/aboutus/helpingchildren.pdf This is a time for everyone to pull together and share resources. I know it is very difficult for some of you right now but together we can get through this. When the children return to your centers I hope some of this information will assist you as you help them deal with their many emotions from the hurricane.
If you have not been through a disaster yet, please keep resources available, as you never know when this could be happening to you. There are many valuable resources from planning for a disaster to what you should do afterwards. Contact your local county extension for more information. In Georgia, you can call 1800.ASK.UGA1.
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