I never thought the mountains where I live would be impacted by a hurricane. Nobody did. But here we are, just weeks after Hurricane Helene tore through four states leaving a trail of devastation. I live just 30 minutes south of Asheville, NC, and the impacts of this storm can be felt across the whole area. The energy has shifted, there is a heaviness of destruction and a strong sense of community buzzing around. We won’t see a shift back to pre-storm living for months, if not years. The devastation is visible everywhere you go: trees and power lines down, businesses closed or operating at a limited capacity, basic needs of thousands being met by local organizations.
I consider myself extremely lucky: I had very minimal damage to my home, and while I was without utilities for a week, I had a safe place to go in the area thanks to family members. I was able to find internet access and consolidate my work week, only having to cancel a couple of appointments. But the emotional toll of living in a disaster area is heavy; even though my sanctuary of home is clean and safe, everywhere I go is damaged. Now that the initial shock of the situation has worn off, I find it hard to continue doing what I’m doing as I’d rather be helping my community recover. It’s a tough balance.
Many therapists were not as lucky as I was, they have lost everything: homes, businesses, loved ones, clients, stability. In therapists’ local online communities, I have seen many posts about taking care of yourself first before continuing to try to support clients, stories of homes, offices and agencies flooded and unusable, no internet connection for online therapists and still so many therapists in the area offering pro-bono counseling for others. We are helpers by nature, that’s why we are in this field. Nearly every therapist impacted by the recent hurricane had to take unplanned (and possibly unpaid) time off work. Even those who were spared the brunt of disaster have new emotional needs they need to address in order to ethically support their clients. I worry for our local therapists.
This is why TRN exists. To provide some much-needed financial support during unplanned emergencies and disasters. For therapists who can’t afford the unpaid time off, we can fill that gap. For therapists who need their own support so they can continue to support clients, we can cover the costs. For therapists who have lost everything, we can help get them back on their feet. Consider a donation to help support these therapists and others who are experiencing an emergency.
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