Aid Worker Pocket Card

Dear Colleague,

Nothing ever quite prepares us for the amazing difficulties and joys that we find when responding to disasters and crises. Yet, over the past 15 years, we have learned a great deal about the psychosocial needs of communities in crisis and how we, as workers, can best help take care of ourselves while we try to help others.

At the request of several different groups, we have created a brief pocket card that you can carry with you to remind you of how important it is to take care of yourself and those working with you. The strategies suggested are based on the experiences of other people working in crisis settings and on research from around the world.

Please feel free to print as many copies as you like, and to share this card with others.

If you would like more information about caring for yourself in difficult work, please visit our website at http://telida.isu.edu or the Actions Without Boarders Psychosocial.org website that provides information for pre-deployment, in the field, and re-entry.

We recognize the enormity of your task and your commitment and the smallness of this card but we hope that it will provide you with a daily reminder of the lessons learned by your predecessors and our compassion for you as you as you work to help other rebuild their lives.

Dr. Beth Hudnall Stamm, Ph.D., Idaho State University <irh@isu.edu>

Craig Higson-Smith, M.A., South African Institute of Traumatic Stress

Amy C. Hudnall, M.A., Appalachian State University

Dr. Henry E. Stamm, Ph.D., Pocatello, ID, U.S.A.

The Faculty and Staff of the Institute of Rural Health at Idaho State University