Services for the Stressed
By Cara Hetlund
April 28, 1997

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing additional funding to expand mental health counseling services in the Dakotas and Minnesota. Officials in Fargo are calling for licensed psychologists and psychiatrists to volunteer services to help people deal with stress. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports on counseling services available to victims of severe weather.

For more counseling information, residents of North Dakota and Minnesota can call the FEMA help line at 1-800-462-9029. In South Dakota the help line number is 1-800-691-4336.

MANY FARMERS AND RANCHERS say this is the third year in a row of tough times. Winter blizzards, spring floods, loss of livestock and crops have taken their toll. A stress help line was established in late January to help people in South Dakota deal with winter losses. Dr. Marcie Moran is the Director of Behavioral Health Services at McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. She says after the blizzard the hotline averaged 15 calls a week. Once it was announced it was also for flood victims, Moran says the number of calls nearly doubled.

THESE ARE CALLS FROM FARMERS THEMSELVES - SOMETIMES A SPOUSE, ALSO - PEOPLE WHO JUST WANT INFORMATION ON HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE HIGH LEVELS OF STRESS AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO.

Moran says the hospital works with the state Department of Agriculture, other mental health organizations, and churches to provide support through both the hotline and community education programs. Moran says a social network and support system is extremely important to help people deal with stress.

MAYBE YOU DON'T NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE STRESSERS ALL OF THE TIME, BUT IT'S GETTING TOGETHER, VERBALIZING, TALKING TO EACH OTHE, HAVING COFFEE, HAVING A LAUGH; ALL THOSE THINGS ARE COMFORTING, AND I THINK THEY PLAY A HUGE ROLE.

Moran says the help line deals with more individual losses and personal stress. She says the stresses from the recent flooding will be quite different: people have support, and immediate assistance is available. For example, churches in Granite Falls, Minnesota, are working together to make sure support systems are available. Lutheran Social Services in Minnesota will provide training for pastors in what to look for among parishioners. Fargo Red Cross volunteer Melanie Rupprecht says it may appear different organizations are duplicating services but it's important everyone who needs help gets it.

PSYCHOLOGICALLY, IT'S A HUGE THING TO HAVE HAPPENED TO THEM. THEY ARE NEVER EVER GOING TO FORGET IT AND THEIR LIVES ARE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT FROM THIS MOMENT ON. AND SOME PEOPLE ARE TOO CONCERNED WITH HOW AM I GOING TO GET BACK AND WORK, AND WHAT ARE MY KIDS GOING TO WEAR, AND THEY DON'T THINK ABOUT THEMSELVES, AND THAT'S WHEN YOU END UP WITH SOMEONE WHO JUST BREAKS DOWN.

The Salvation Army is providing clean-up assistance to residents along the Minnesota River. Volunteer Joan Wiesehan says she's surprised by how upbeat people are.

A FEW OF THE OLDER LADIES ARE QUITE STRESSED OUT. THEY'LL COME IN - OH, I WON'T SAY STRESSED - I'LL SAY TIRED. THEY COME IN AND SAY "OH MY GOODNESS! I'VE BEEN CLEANING OUT THAT HOUSE ALL DAY TODAY!" I WAS TALKING TO A LADY YESTERDAY WHOSE DAUGHTER CAME TO HELP HER - SHE'S PROBABLY IN HER LATE 80'S - AND THE WATER CAME UP ABOUT A FOOT IN HER HOUSE SO SHE IS ALSO HAVING TO CLEAN OUT KITCHEN LINOLEUM AND CARPETING BUT SHE IS HOLDING UP QUITE WELL.

Back at McKennan Hospital: Dr. Marcie Moran says it's important the support systems don't fall off. She says people who want to help flood victims should remember to check back in a few months. Most people who lost property in the floods will grieve like experiencing death. She says people need to remember these feelings are normal.

Return to Flood of 1997.