Workshop for those who help animals during disasters

A workshop for people who work with animals during a disaster is set in Yuba City, with steps to help them stay balanced and mentally healthy during times of stress.

The free compassion fatigue workshop is at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Red Cross building, 2125 E. Onstott Road, presented by Yuba Sutter Domestic Animal Disaster Assistance, or YSDADA.

Those planning to attend are asked to notify the organizers by email at president@ysdada.org or call 441-9550.

It can be very troubling for volunteers who work with animals, at a veterinary practice or animal shelter, during a disaster, said Gretchen Cupp, president of the board of YSDADA.

“We work with animals because we love animals,” she said. “That’s why we volunteer and do what we do in a disaster.”

Sometimes in a disaster, volunteers see and experience things that can be stressful.

Led by licensed clinical social worker Debbie Knight, the workshop’s topics include the volunteer’s response and how he or she feels, how it is handled and things that can be done to not keep feelings bundled up.

Discussion follows the short workshop.

The workshops are done about once a year. Volunteers with YSDADA also have after-action meetings following a deployment to talk about what did and didn’t work and problems encountered.

This year, volunteers worked two short deployments in Yuba-Sutter: in January assisting with people camping along low lying areas around the rivers; and in February, during the evacuation, Cupp said.