Social workers key in natural disasters, experts suggest

International experts say social workers should play a greater role in helping during natural disasters.

The experts are taking part in a University of Calgary workshop with the aim of building an Alberta-wide network of social workers ready to assist during calamities such as the 2013 floods in southern Alberta or last year’s Fort McMurray wildfire.

“They understand the community. They know the history. They’re often residents of the place, and those relationships they have before an event often get strengthened afterwards,” said organizer Julie Drolet, an associate professor in the social work faculty at the University of Calgary.

Social workers need to prepare to become ready to help when a disaster first occurs and in the longterm as well, Drolet said.

“Often there is an influx of resources and dollars to support what happens in the immediate aftermath, but then over time those dollars are no longer available.

“What we’re hearing from the agencies that work directly with individuals, families, children and youth is the ongoing need for those kind of supports for emotional and mental health.”

Desley Hargreaves has worked during a number of disasters, including the 2002 bombing in Bali, Indonesia, as well as the 2009 bush fires in her native Australia.

She said the role of social workers extends beyond providing counselling.

“Being able to access social workers and other non-government organization workers who have a local knowledge and local connections can help you validate what’s going on,” said Hargreaves, an adjunct professor in social work at the University of Queensland.

She suggested the role of social workers needs to extend well beyond a disaster’s first couple of years. That was made clear to her when the government of Australia sent victims of the Bali bombing back to Indonesia a decade later.

“Most people wouldn’t think that 10 years on people were suddenly going to say this is really affecting me now,” Hargreaves said.

“Some people couldn’t actually leave the hotel because it was too confronting for them.”