What is it about?
Local social service agencies play a key role in the capacity of children, youth and families to “build back better” post-disaster. These organizations need to be resourced and prepared to respond to psychosocial needs in the long-term in order to successfully contribute to post-disaster recovery.
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Why is it important?
Our findings show that local social service agencies are key players in supporting children, youth and families to build back better post-disaster. Local social service agencies require adequate funding and involvement in decision-making in order to best meet the long-term mental health and psychosocial needs of vulnerable people, including children and youth.
Perspectives
This article is important because it shares the lived experiences of service providers who supported children, youth and families with their needs, including mental health needs, following a flood disaster in Canada in 2013. Their insights into what it was like to have services from a nearby major city "parachuted" in, in a largely top-down approach, are an important lesson learned in terms of how to take more collaborative and empowering approaches with small communities and service providers in responding to and recovering from future disasters.
Amy Fulton
University of Calgary
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Prioritizing psychosocial services for children, youth and families postdisaster, Disaster Prevention and Management An International Journal, May 2020, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/dpm-09-2019-0310.
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