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CC volunteer gets to work among torched mountains, unclear futures out west

CC volunteer gets to work among torched mountains, unclear futures out west

Former school counselor provides support for California families

The charred mountains surrounding Charles City resident Stewart Coulson leave an intimidating reminder of what the locals in Kelseyville, Calif. are still living through each day. Wildfire is an overwhelming sight, Coulson said, and 20 percent of the kids he is scheduled to meet Monday will have been homeless for nearly a month.

“It’s just an overwhelming thing. I’ve been driving through the fire areas, it’s phenomenal,” Coulson, a Disaster Mental Health volunteer with the Red Cross, said. “I work with kids, adults, parents, anyone who was affected by the disaster.

We’re always dealing with depression and grief.”

Coulson is in the last stretch of his two-week deployment to fire-stricken neighborhoods, working in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide mental health expertise for families, schools and the volunteer staff members who need help processing the disaster they’ve been working on the front lines to ease.

Coulson, who for 25 years worked as a middle school counselor, spent much of last week helping family members plan their next housing and basic needs plans.

“It’s 90 percent listening, and 10 percent planning for the future,” Coulson said.

“(They’re thinking) ‘My home is gone, and things are never going to be the same.’ If we’re successful at planning, we know where they’re going to be by the time winter comes.”

Before he leaves Friday, Coulson will be focusing primarily on children and teenagers in the area, including Kelseyville and Middleton, where residents lost around 1,500 houses along with some family members and friends.

While kids aren’t dealing with the logistics of relocating their family, they can have particular reactions that Coulson said may negatively impact their life to come.

“Kids typically have incredible security problems.

All that they had in life that was solid, permanent and good, is suddenly gone. They become very skeptical of the things that we need them to know are real,” Coulson said. “(We’re) reinforcing that these are the things that you have. The American people have given donations, and they want you to be helped.”

Through the week, Coulson is living in a firefighter’s camp on the side of Clear Lake, a well-known resort area with high-end vacation homes surrounding the water.

“It’s a natural lake in the mountains, just gorgeous,” Coulson said, but a significant amount of the affected homes belonged to year-round residents living in one of the poorest counties of the state, he added.

Coulson was recruited as a Red Cross volunteer in the wake of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina disaster, and was first deployed to a mission site following Hurricane Rita in Texas. Since then, Coulson has provided counseling and support in Disaster Response Operations (DRO) including the 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado and 2008 Parkersburg tornado.

“When you’re out here, you’re kind of running on adrenaline. When I go home, I collapse,” Coulson said.

Still, he reflected, “You get an overwhelming feeling of, ‘I’m in the right place. This is where I should be.’” Although Coulson leaves for home on Friday, he knows California residents are only beginning their paths to recovery, and says Charles City residents can do a lot to help out –– whether by volunteering, as he does, or by simply providing financial support.

“Give money. There’s nothing more profound that you can do,” Coulson said.

“These are your neighbors.

It’s people that make $1, $5 contributions –– people just need to know it really counts.

It’s the neighbors just helping neighbors out.”

To donate to the American Red Cross disaster relief programs, visit www.redcross. org.

By Kate Hayden khayden@charlescitypress.com

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