Caring Counseling Ministries in Marion are offering free group therapy sessions for tornado survivors in Williamson County.
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. (WSIL)-- After the recent storms on Friday, many people came together to help out the neighbors in need by cleaning up or providing resources.
But the help doesn’t stop there. A local Williamson County mental health organization wants to help tornado survivors with their mental health.
Caring Counseling Ministries in Marion are offering free group therapy sessions for tornado survivors in Williamson County. Daniel Alcorn with CCM says it's at no cost to those clients. He says people can go to their to reach out.
“We're aiming for Thursday at 6:00 PM, and if anybody wants to get signed up for that, just call the office (618) 997-2129 and let the receptionist know,� Alcorn said.
He says they want to help their neighbors as they are rebuilding their lives.
“You can't go back to your house at the end of the day and decompress; that is very disorienting. So we want to help people get centered again and help the community,� Alcorn said.
The Williamson County Emergency Management Agency Director, Brian Burgess, says keeping up with your mental health is very important after disasters.
“So one of the things that survivors of catastrophic events tend to experience is what we call disaster fatigue,� Burgess says. “And that's when loved ones have come and helped and had to get back to their lives. That's when support assistance programs have come in and done what they can for you, and they've left.�
He says people start to recover, and they are adjusting to their new reality. He says the survivors are also dealing with the grief associated with the trauma they went through.
“There are times when folks will not necessarily process this very well. Most people associate grief with death. And in this case, it wasn't a death. We were very fortunate not to have any fatalities, but grief is also associated with trauma, and some of these folks have experienced some pretty significant trauma,� Burgess said.
But Burgess says as people go through this process, they should continue to work with the local agencies to get the help they might need. He says people can reach out to the EMA or go to their website for those resources.
He also says it's important for those impacted by the tornados to fill out the self-assessment survey on the .
“The self-assessment survey is the survey that we've handed out to all the survivors that's available on our website, and that's what helps us create the documentation that we need to request the assistance from state and federal resources,� Burgess said.
Burgess says while tornado survivors work with the different agencies to help return to their normal lives, it’s important for them to also pay attention to their mental health throughout the process.Â