Disaster Relief and Mental Health: Comparing Residential Centers in Colorado and Poland
Since 202, IMR has been privileged to serve two residential centers over the long term: one for unhoused individuals in Denver, Colorado during the Covid pandemic and the other for displaced Ukrainians in Warsaw, Poland following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While these two centers were located across the globe from each other, the number-one diagnosis IMR volunteers saw in both residential populations was one relating to mental health.
Similarities in Populations
There are multiple similarities between the two populations.
Limited Privacy
Both communities lived in a communal situation where they spent their time during the day, for their meals and during the evening. Here, one’s personal space was limited to a cot and a small, 4-square-foot area at the foot of the cot for personal storage, which was maintained unlocked.
In all shelter settings, lights were on throughout the night. Regardless of the outside noise from the operations of the shelter or other neighboring guests either sleeping or having personal issues, the sleep patterns of the shelter guests seemed to be greatly affected.
Both shelter systems had limited privacy. Bathroom areas were all large open areas without privacy screens for multiple people to wash hands or brush teeth at the same time.
Rules to Follow
Both shelter systems also had numerous set rules that were not options. There were requirements for how many items you could bring with you, what those items could or could not consist of, and how the items were stored. There were rules for curfew, and rules for times to eat, times to gather, times to sleep. Both systems required bodies and baggage to be scanned before entering any facilities.
In the end, there were many layers for these populations to adhere to in order to gain admittance or stay in the community shelter. Without waver, all volunteers shared that mental health was paramount for their work. Nurses are uniquely qualified to handle mental health and de-escalate people in a crisis situation. The IMR volunteers worked without hesitation to care for these populations in their own unique ways.
Differences
In February of 2022, we faced the crisis of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this situation, at IMR, we knew we had the experience and breadth to be able to help make an impact. Our teams and staff moved from the shelters of Colorado to the shelters of the Ukrainian refugees. While volunteers went into similar conditions to serve, the Ukrainian refugees were a very new vulnerable community.
To date, IMR has deployed over 1,000 volunteers and provided over 400 days of clinic in the greater Poland area. In total, we have treated 396,000 Ukrainian refugees. There are many factors that make this population uniquely challenging to which to provide treatment for mental health.
Language Barrier
First is the language barrier. The Ukrainian people came across the border into Poland and were treated largely by US citizens that spoke neither Polish or Ukrainian. This made the conversations more difficult, as well as lengthier, because it required multiple people to help each refugee and the privacy of the conversations was slightly diminished. Further, many of the volunteers who were helping spoke Russian. Because the conflict arose with Russia, this caused some emotional challenges as well.
Education
The education level of the Ukrainian refugees is much higher than the education of those living in the Colorado shelters. In Colorado, many of those experiencing homelessness did not have higher education. While many Colorado shelter guests also came across the border, they did so to seek a better life. The Ukrainians came across the border devastated by the life they were forced to leave behind, and their quality of life was dramatically affected.
National Pride
The Ukrainians are true patriots. They love Ukraine; they love everything about their country. They want to return and they want to have freedom. The Ukrainian shelters would play the Ukrainian national anthem once a day at a particular shelter, and IMR teams continually reminisce about being stopped in their tracks watching the true patriotism with tears streaming down the cheeks of young and old alike.
The Colorado refugees were not patriots of their former nations, nor did they seem to be patriotic about America. The Ukrainian refugees loved one another and shared a common bond and sense of community. The tended to help one another throughout the day and their mutual situation. They loved eating together as a community and sharing stories of their struggles.
Community Position
The Ukrainians held high positions in their communities. They had homes, they had careers, they had cars. They were put into the shelter for the very first time during this crisis. IMR teams witnessed their struggles and heard their cries. The Ukrainians were not experiencing homelessness prior to the Russian engagement.
Source of the Situation
The mental health challenges facing the Ukrainians involved caring for them in their moment of tragedy. Volunteers who would show up and be present for them meant a lot to both the Ukrainians as well as the IMR teams. They hugged grandmothers that came across the border after bombs destroyed their homes. They heard the cries from women who lost their husbands or their brothers or their fathers in their fight for freedom.
Mental health is a true crisis, and IMR’s skilled and trained medical professionals have the knowledge and training to assist. They nurtured the children after their parents sent them on a bus out of Ukraine for the hope of a better future. Even the Polish citizens that volunteer with IMR experienced mental health issues. They saw and recognized the fragility of freedom, and many of them began to carry the burdens of the Ukrainians on their own shoulders.
It is clear that the Ukrainians were forced into a situation that they didn’t ask for or want. Early on, IMR recognized the sheer number of people who suffered from PTSD, from depression, from anxiety. IMR’s nurses and medical providers are uniquely qualified to serve both their medical and their mental health needs, of which the Ukrainians have tenfold.
In Colorado, the volunteers shared that while the guests suffered from PTSD, depression and anxiety, some of these illnesses came from chronic drug and alcohol use and abuse and community disengagement. The volunteers spent time de-escalating guests that were violent and facing severe mental disorders. These guests largely disliked one another, had fear, and did not engage in helping one another out. Many preferred to eat alone and did not engage in conversations with other guests.
Many of the mental health struggles of the Ukrainians came from a lack of work. While they had previously worked, they were not qualified to work in Poland. IMR took this to heart and trained and hired Ukrainians. This lifted them up with purpose as well as financially. IMR was able to train staff and give them an opportunity for employment that they otherwise could not have in Poland.
While mental health was a common thread between shelter residents that IMR volunteers worked with in Colorado and in Poland, there were many differences between the two populations. Regardless of who they were and where they came from, trained IMR volunteers have been able to make an impact on both groups.
In the Words of IMR Volunteers
I live in Colorado. International Medical Relief (IMR) has been providing medical support at various homeless shelters throughout the COVID 19 pandemic in Denver. I struggle with severe anxiety. Due to this disorder, I have panic attacks. IMR has helped me utilized coping skills and improve my daily living. They make me feel loved and cared for. They rock! I have had the privilege to observe first hand their genuine care of all they serve. I love IMR!
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