National Association of Social Workers

Building Resilience After Disaster

Volunteering Experiences Called ‘Wonderfully Rich and Professionally Rewarding’

There is a sustained need for mental health professionals who can offer volunteer assistance in disaster preparedness and response.

By Maren Dale, Special to the News

Credit: John Michael Yanson

During the past year, numerous heartbreaking national and international disasters have filled news reports telling emotional stories and showing heart-wrenching images — from the tsunami in Japan to the tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., and the South, to the flooding in Minot, N.D., and beyond.

Many individuals who witness these stories wonder what they can do to help — and some respond, often by making a monetary donation or participating in hands-on volunteer work. But social workers, who are both trained to support those in need as well as feel a strong inherent calling to do so, are even more likely to act on that impulse and volunteer, and their response makes a significant difference.

“As a social worker myself, I’m very proud to say that about 50 percent of the 4,000 disaster mental health volunteers we have based in 600 chapters across the country are social workers,” says Robert Yin, a social worker who is manager of the Disaster Mental Health Program of the National American Red Cross in Washington. “Social workers, with a long history of strengths-based and systems-focused work, are uniquely positioned to increase the resilience of individuals and communities throughout our nation.”

Social worker Mandi Janis, director of Disaster Response at Catholic Charities USA, says their Disaster Operation Program also values social workers and relies heavily upon them to help provide a range of relief and recovery services disaster survivors need.

Despite what may sound like a strong existing cadre of available social work volunteers, both Yin and Janis say the reality is there is a sustained need for dedicated mental health professionals and case managers who can offer volunteer assistance across the disaster continuum of preparedness, response and recovery. Both the National Red Cross and Catholic Charities are recruiting more social workers, offering training opportunities to prepare them to fulfill these important roles.

Rewarding Experiences: Beyond the obvious reason of feeing driven to help others, social workers cite other reasons for choosing to volunteer after disaster events.

John D. Weaver is a Nazareth, Pa.-based clinical social worker, crisis intervention consultant, trainer and author of Disasters: Mental Health Interventions. He currently operates Eye of the Storm, a company that provides private mental health consultation and training services. Since 1991, he has served as a volunteer relief worker and instructor with the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health team, assisting survivors as well as managing volunteers after a wide range of disasters.

When asked why he takes on these challenging roles, and why he believes other social workers also do so, he lists several factors.

“The practical experiences have been wonderfully rich and professionally rewarding. Going out on relief assignments provides me with some much-needed respite from my regular job duties, including managed care, which can be challenging. No other moments in my career have come close to providing me the personal and professional rewards that I have experienced as a Red Cross volunteer,” he says. “For other social workers who are volunteering in disaster relief, many say it rekindles the kind of helping spirit that they have not felt since shortly after graduate school. Some describe their first experience as a calling to their volunteer career.”

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From September 2011 NASW News. © 2011 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.