Around the World Schools Need to Respond to the Disaster in the Philippines

This message was sent to Dr. Vincent from the Dept. of Psychology at UCLA.
 
Schools need to respond because news of a disaster anywhere in the world can have an impact on their students, families, school staff, and communities.

Reaction to the news of the disaster may stem from having relatives and friends who have been directly affected or because the media images they experience trigger feelings of empathy, anxiety, fear.

Whenever there is a major disaster, schools can mobilize to provide support to those affected directly and indirectly by the event.

For example:
•    For those at school who have relatives in the impacted country, schools can consider providing appropriate opportunities to share what they know about the situation, what concerns they have, how they might address those concerns (e.g., up-to-date information, ways their families/communities are reaching out to find/support friends and relatives, what plans are underway for recovery).

•    For those at school who have strong emotional reactions to the news reports (e.g., are anxious that such a disaster might occur in their community), schools can mobilize those facets of their emergency aftermath plans to provide appropriate supports.

•    To help with disaster relief, schools can follow the lead of and connect with those organizing such relief (e.g., the Red Cross, UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, etc. – see How to help: Organizations offering relief to Typhoon Haiyan survivors – http://www.cnbc.com/id/101189935).

•    Schools can also tie the responses into their efforts to promote social-emotional learning, character building, etc.

•    And, as always, schools should review school crisis plans and encourage families to involve their children in understanding what to do if there is a disaster, where to get help, etc.

For more resources related to crisis response and trauma, see our quick find topic page http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/p2107_01.htm