Hurricane Irma: Red Cross counselors help shelter residents with stress

Shawn and Mary Moore have weathered tough times together in their 25-year marriage, all of which helped the couple manage staying in a shelter before Hurricane Irma ravaged Southwest Florida.

Mary Moore, 41, has epilepsy. In 2012 the couple were in a car accident, and she faced a series of surgeries to piece her shattered body back together.

Among the myriad services the Red Cross provides in times of disasters is stress management assistance in shelters for evacuees from hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and other events.

“They all look out for one another,” said Mary Moore, of North Fort Myers. “They keep telling me to keep my chin up and it’s going to get better.”

All of the shelters opened for Irma have licensed mental health professionals to circulate among the residents. The counselors offer ways to help them cope with the disruption in their lives.

At the Estero Community Park and Recreation Center, half a dozen of the mental health professionals were on hand Tuesday for any of the 463 evacuees. The number has held steady under 500 individuals, said Bob Wallace, a Red Cross spokesman.

“We have counselors roaming in to make contact and visit with the people, and they are welcome to approach us, and we counsel staff,” said Janet Michell, one of the counselors. “Our staff goes through a great deal of strain working 12-hour days.”

People bring their real-life issues with them to the shelter, and those issues don’t go away, said Michell, of Fort Myers Beach.

Stress management focuses on what an individual needs at the moment, which could be medication, food, help contacting a loved one in a distant place, or similar “right now” issues, said Peggy McGee-Smith, the lead disaster mental health counselor in the Estero shelter. “Things are going on in people’s lives, and we give them support and listen.”

Another focus is to distract the storm evacuees from where they are now, she said.

The Church of the Brethren runs a children’s disaster service and went to the shelter with clowns and balloon makers to help children cope with their anxiety.

Some people who come into the shelter offer to help with chores, and that’s a good way to get through shelter life.

“They feel productive,” Michell said. “They feel useful.”

Shawn Moore said the Red Cross volunteers have been wonderful and helpful. He spoke to his landlord and found out the manufactured home that he and his wife rented was still under water.

“We couldn’t go back there if we wanted to,” he said.

They were leaving the shelter Tuesday after receiving a voucher from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a room at a Red Roof Inn in Clearwater.

“We have the motel until Sept. 24, and then I can apply for an extension through Oct. 1,” he said.

They plan to return after their hotel stay to Berwick, Pennsylvania, where they are from and still have family.

Marianne Henneman, 83, who lives in south Fort Myers, said the Red Cross counselors have been helpful. Shelter life is not as bad as she imagined.

“I am so surprised at how wonderful the children are, how respectful everyone has been with each other,” said Henneman, who worked in the computer industry before retiring. “I thought I was going to be depressed, but I see it now as an adventure. The children are having fun. How could I be cranky?”

Electricity has been restored to her home, and she planned to return Wednesday.

Genevieve Brewer, of Bonita Springs, has had to uproot three times for Irma, and that’s been the most stressful. The 71-year-old woman started out in a hotel, had to evacuate, and she was sent to Germain Arena and now the Estero center.

“It’s not a good experience having to get yourself settled,” she said.

The Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee said feeling stressed before or after a traumatic event such as a hurricane is normal. What’s not normal is when the stress gets in the way of taking care of family or doing one's job.

Here are some tips:

• Follow a normal routine as much as possible, which includes waking up and going to bed at normal times, along with eating well-balanced meals.
• Talk about your feelings and accept help; both can make you feel better.
• Tune out from the storm images on television and social media; such images can elevate stress levels.
• Get out and help others in the community; it also can help you feel better.

The state’s disaster distress hotline is 800-985-5990.