I am a Colorado Springs resident.  It is really amazing how this entire community, the surrounding communities and all people in general are pulling together to help one another.  The citizens of Colorado Springs, people in the community, are becoming local heroes by offering up their homes to friends, pets and strangers.  Most of all the police department, the forest service and the firefighters have all been super heroes during this time.

I posted earlier this week on my personal facebook page: “Right now is the time for people to join together in one solid focus of prayers, thoughts, direction and most importantly actions to come together in this time of need. If you are in Colorado or know someone who is, execute YOUR role with confidence and do it brilliantly. Thank you to all of those already fighting on the forefront. We will persevere, unite, renew and rebuild.”

The city, surrounding areas and people here – right now are the absolute picture of community.

In light of this recent disaster that has affected our area, the place where my home is – I thought I would share some tips that were sent to me through my son’s schools district.  This contains good information for everyone not just youth, but parents as well, all people.  Consider replacing  the words “child” or “children” with “YOU” or “YOUR”!  Please share this with your family and friends.  This information is comprised from more that one article.

-Mike

*****

Below are tips and resources for families and children dealing with the crisis of the Waldo Fire. Please feel free to share with neighbors and friends. These are recommendations compiled by the Academy District 20 Crisis Team.

From Martha Hinson, District 20 Crisis Team:

Some important tips for parents as we deal with the ongoing wildfire disaster response:
1)      Please monitor and limit your child’s exposure to media during this time. Watching the fire over and over will increase trauma and stress in children and adolescents. Research has proven this in lessons learned from 9/11.
2)      Also monitor and limit the amount of time your children and adolescents spend on Facebook, tweeting and other social media sites. These also have graphic pictures as well as information that may be nonfactual which will cause again undue anxiety, trauma, and stress.
3)      Making contact with others can help reduce feelings of distress. It benefits all of us to get involved with activities where we can contribute and help like collecting food for evacuees as well as activities that are just fun like movies, bowling, playing games, etc.
4)      Children and adolescents can benefit from spending some time with other similar-age peers.
Social supports are huge during a crisis, especially for adolescents!

*****

WHEN TERRIBLE THINGS HAPPEN

Provided by the National Center for PTSD