Historical June 1995 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Ed note: Last month we printed Ed Stout’s account of his experiences in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing of the federal building.
This month we continue with some background on the Crisis Response effort. by Ed Stout The study of the effects of victimization has focused primarily on the trauma to the individual and, secondarily, to the individual’s loved ones. Until recently, little attention has been focused on the vicarious effects on whole communities or how to intervene effectively in community-wide trauma.
We have learned, though, that, after people have gone through such a traumatic event, they may experience any number of reactions. Initially, they may be in shock, in denial; it is not unusual to suffer from a “zombie-like” effect.
Some times they become exhausted, physically and emotionally; they experience sleeplessness, irritability, jumpiness, panic attacks, for a long time. Frequently, victims tell us their emotions are so intense that they think they are “going crazy.” We counsel them that they are responding as normal human beings should to such abnormal events. Recent history of Crisis Response by NOVA and development of the St. Louis CRT August 20, 1986 Edmond, Oklahoma. Fourteen postal employees were killed in a suicidal massacre that left the citizens of this small town in shock. Michael Turpen, then Oklahoma Attorney General, called NOVA in our nation’s capital to ask for help. Within a day, NOVA was able to fly a six-person team into Oklahoma to help the community’s caregivers mobilize a response to their crisis. Based on the positive reports about that team’s work, NOVA has mobilized dozens of such volunteer teams and has provided consulting services to hundreds of other communities after hurricanes, airplane crashes, train wrecks, and multiple homicides. February, 1988. Detroit, Michigan.
I attended NOVA’s three day Crisis Response Team (CRT) training. Fresh in my mind was the murder of five employees of the National Supermarket on Natural Bridge.
We did not have a CR Team here in St. Louis.
We sure could have used one, I came back to St. Louis with one goal — to organize a team, to be prepared in case the St. Louis metro area ever suffered a major disaster which instantaneously traumatized a large group of people — a neighborhood, a school, a place of business, a whole community. Labor Day Friday, 1991 My neighbor, Miggs Ferrigni called. Bob Gremelsbacher had been killed on the playground of St. Margaret of Scotland School where Miggs taught. She, like Mike Turpen, was calling for help.
I was able to organize a team of trained counselors and crisis intervention workers.
For two and a half days, we had counselors in the school.
We helped deflect media so the school could return to some sense of normal.
We held formal debriefing sessions with the teachers and with parents.
According to Chief of Police Clarence Harmon, we helped his detectives solve the crime; by helping the community get back in control, he said, we freed them up to work more effectively to cooperate with the police to apprehend the perpetrators of this terrible deed. February, 1993 St. Louis.
With a grant from the United Way in 1993 we were able to bring NOVA to St. Louis to train representatives from 27 different agencies to form the St. Louis Metro Crisis Response Team, which now has responded to over 12 different communities in crisis in the metro area.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, June 1995.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1995_06.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
