Such was the Minister’s advice in May to the members of the Coordinating Committee convened by the Agency for Reconstruction and Development (ARD) to develop a model for effectively responding to the psychological and social needs of citizens. The occasion was the presentation of a Model for Grenada’s National Psycho-Social Disaster Plan.

The ARD has taken the Minister’s advice to heart by continuing to facilitate the process of working together. The Coordinating Committee that developed the Model comprised representatives of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Education, the Wellness Committee, the National Disaster Management Agency, Legal Aid and Counselling Clinic, UNICEF and ARD. The Grenada Red Cross was invited to join the Committee, given its multiple roles in pre and post disaster situations.

The Model combines two approaches used by the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Health and others following Hurricane Ivan to intervene at the community level in the provision of psycho-social support and counselling; namely the Critical Incident Stress Management and the Mental Health models.

“The Committee is developing the Model into a Plan indigenous to the psycho-social needs of Grenada,” ARD Director of Social Recovery Dr. Jennifer Holder Dolly said.

To this end, the Committee identified a Coordinating Team to transform the Model into a National Psycho-Social Disaster Plan, comprising representatives from the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Carriacou and Petit Martinique Affairs, National Disaster Management Agency, Legal Aid and Counselling Clinic and the ARD. The Grenada Red Cross was also invited to be part of the Team.

“Since the Model was presented, we have been working on another tier of service, putting into operation a system of personnel to make the Plan functional. That means that we are attempting to make trained counsellors available in the event that another hurricane or any other disaster occurs,” Dr. Dolly explained.

The Coordinating Team held its inaugural meeting on July 10 at the ARD Board Room, at which Ministry of Social Development Chief Welfare Officer Arlene Daniels was appointed interim Chairperson.

Additionally, to support the Government of Grenada in the provision of counselling services and complement the development of the Model into an active Plan, the ARD is establishing a data base of persons with the appropriate skills who can respond in the event of a disaster. This includes the15 persons who attended training sessions sponsored by the ARD and the University of the West Indies, as well as approximately 30 persons trained immediately post Ivan by the Pan American Health
Organisation and PETROTRIN.

It is anticipated that Public Officers with counselling skills will be included in the data base, as well as other persons trained in some form of psychological response.