AACC's Initial Trauma Response and How You Can Be a Part!

TO: All AACC members in the United States
FR: Tim Clinton, President of the AACC,
DA: Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Probably every one of you has seen graphic images of the destruction, the mass death, and the despair of Haiti following the massive quake of January 12. Already the poorest and most dysfunctional state in the Western hemisphere, the quake essentially rendered the country a failed state with no functioning government at all, and

• as many as 200,000 dead, many of them still stacked up and lying in the streets, and scattered throughout the massive piles of rubble
• 250,000 injured, many with major crush injuries that are now getting infected—presaging another round of mass death—and with just a handful of doctors and field hospitals to care for them
• 1.5 to 2 million people left homeless, without food, water, or shelter of any kind
• 2/3 to 3/4 of all buildings and infrastructure destroyed and in piles of rubble covering the many dead still remaining to be removed
• hundreds of thousands of new orphans that are now being added to the hundreds of thousands of orphans already existing in Haiti before the quake due to parental deaths because of AIDS and the onslaught of hurricanes and floods in recent years that have killed with a chilling remorselessness.

The Haitian tragedy is likely the "perfect storm" of a disaster, because it destroyed nearly the entire country, and there are numerous major barriers to getting relief into the country and to the people needing it most (like one sea port that was destroyed in the quake, and one airport with just one runway that is completely overwhelmed with air traffic).

Nevertheless, the media are reporting a daily train of miracles—people being dug of the rubble still alive after a week without food, water, or medical care—many that are clearly the work of the Almighty and for which the Haitian people are singing and praising God for His mercy. This stubborn sub-plot will not die—it is as if God Himself is creating a life-giving and resilient narrative to compete with the dark narrative of death and destruction. Yet these miracles are but drops in the ocean of pain and suffering that will be overwhelming for weeks and months and years to come.

AACC has been training crisis response workers all over the country for years—likely a few hundred will go who are called to sacrifice themselves in the best traditions of Christian service for such a time as this. We are convinced that God is preparing some from the over 10,000 that have been trained to date. Even now, AACC leaders and members are preparing teams of trained crisis workers to assist the relief effort—planning to work alongside people from many other ministries and churches throughout the United States and from all over the world. We are hoping to offer post-service debriefing services to anyone who goes into Haiti—as vicarious trauma can begin to set in a matter of days when exposed to such horrific death and destruction.

These many relief workers, doctors, counselors, soldiers, and care-givers may be involved in a national rebuilding effort that could be rather unique in world history. A vision is needed to assist in the construction of a whole new country from out of the rubble that will proclaim that a new, God-honoring and citizen-centered country is taking its place. This new nation could stand proudly and make the entire island shine like never before. This new nation will literally rise up out of the ashes of the old—not a resuscitation, but it could be a genuine resurrection that could put the whole earth at awe. Regardless of the overarching mission, this relief will likely be the largest international effort ever put together.

1. Pray fervently that God will release a new vision—a Kingdom vision of a new Haiti—and Who will show up in a mighty way and rain miracles that will be done every day in a way that no one is able to say that God and God's people weren't there with mercy and resources for the brave Haitian people.

2. If God is tugging at your heart, and you meet the criteria in the following letter by Kevin Ellers, don't squelch it! Please contact Jennifer Cisney at Haiti.relief@aacc.net, who is coordinating this effort.

3. Contributing money via the Haitian Relief Fund. Please send in $10, or $100 or $1,000—whatever you are able to give. Click here to donate! This fund will underwrite the costs of setting up the fore mentioned debriefing ministry in Florida for Salvation Army aid workers on returning from Haiti, and of sending AACC teams to Haiti, and will then buy food and water and medical supplies for our teams to take with them into Haiti.

January 25, 2010
Dear Tim,

Thank you for your offer to help provide crisis response leaders to debrief our people coming back from the Haiti disaster response. I am coordinating the emotional and spiritual care (ESC) of our teams which are deploying for the Haiti disaster response.

As there is a language barrier to providing effective ESC in Haiti so most of our focus will be to care for the teams by preparing them for deployment and debriefing them upon their return. Here is how I think AACC may best be able to help in this initial stage: Can you provide seasoned clinicians or disaster workers to debrief our teams coming back from 14-day deployments in Haiti. The people we're sending on the early teams are seeing a lot of trauma and experiencing a whole different world than what they are used to.

We need teams of people who have completed CISM Group, Individual and Emotional and Spiritual Care. Grief Following Trauma would also be helpful. I really need people with a clinical background as well. We need at least one clinician minimum on each team in case people start to decompensate or need one-on-one support.

Our first teams of people are arriving back in the United States January 29-30. We would have the trainers fly in on Thursday, January 28th. We would need you to pay for their flights and meals. About every 14 days or so, we would have another team going back. Ideally, I would like to have a few people that I could rotate in on an ongoing basis if possible. Let me know if this is a possibility.

Thanks again for your offer. I appreciate our partnership together. This first team back will be a tough group as they have had immediate exposure to the most severe trauma.

Sincerely,
Kevin Ellers, D.Min.
Territorial Disaster Services Coordinator

Click here to donate.