The disasters preparation projects of the Bethel's House
Phuket Meeting on Disaster Preparedness of Persons with Disabilities
24-25 May 2008, Phuket, Thailand
- To follow-up the International Conference on Tsunami Preparedness of Persons with Disabilities, 11-12 January 2007, Phuket -
Hosted by Senator Monthian Buntan and the DAISY Consortium
Sponsored by the Nippon Foundation
Venue: Millennium Resort, Patong, Phuket
- Activities of Bethel's House
- Disaster preparation projects of Bethel's House
- An outline of the project
- Steps of evacuation drill in the Bethel
- Summer practice for evacuation.
- Networking is a key.
- Future issues
Activities of Bethel's House
What is Bethel's House? Bethel's House is a self-help group for users and survivors of psychiatry in Urakawa, Hokkaido, northern part of Japan.
Racing hoses and marine products such as scalp and squid are the well-known products of Urakawa.
Picture of racing hose.
Picture of squids
Active participants of Bethel's house are more than 100 persons with schizophrenia, depression and addiction of alcoholic and/or drug.
Schizophrenia is one of the major mental diseases which bring many symptoms, such as, delusion, hallucination, a guilty feeling without reason, seeing things other people can’t see, and uneasy feeling of his/her body. Although 1 out of 100 has schizophrenia and it means it is common, subjective feelings of persons with psychiatric disabilities were not expressed in Japan. Bethel's members are known as the persons who eloquent speaker of their experiences.
Picture of the church where Bethel's house activities started.
Picture of the packing kelp in the early days.
Today Bethel's House have more than 2,000 visitors every year, and they brings economical impact to Urakawa town.
Picture of the current office.
Picture of the packing kelp in current office.
Disaster preparation projects of Bethel's House
Urakawa has been suffered from strong earthquakes every ten years. Bethel's House has been struggled for disaster preparation in cooperation with National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disability (NRCD) and a town administration since 2003.
Picture of the Bethel's nursing care goods shop after an big earthquake.
In 2006, we made evacuation manuals of our activity places and group homes.
And we conducted evacuation trainings from our vocational aid joint house and group homes with these manuals.
Picture of the map of the house and activity places.
After cooperative project with NRCD for three years, Bethel's House was chosen as model case of disaster preparedness program for persons with disabilities in 2007. Supported by Ministry of Health, labor and welfare, we are struggling on disaster preparedness program especially towards tsunami.
An outline of the project
Based on the Japanese governments’ official data, we drafted the scenario of the evacuation on the goal of “Reaching to the 10 meter high within four minutes after the quake. Developing an evacuation plan and organizing DAISY evacuation manual and evacuation practice drill were taken place.
It is important that parsons with psychiatric disabilities knows safe evacuation point, evacuation rute, how to evacuate, and the character of the disaster around Urakawa before big quake happen. Concerned about our needs through the evacuation way, we learned that knowledge through experiences of the evacuation drill. Some members have difficulties of reading conventional reading materials, some members have difficulties of understanding the situation around them, or communicate with others because of the voices and hallucinations. Now, 3 members are making the evacuation manuals with DAISY.
Picture of Aya creating in DAISY format.
Finding the way to prepare for the disaster through knowledge on disaster, points to secure safety and practices.
“Tojisha-kenkyuu”, activities to understand themselves and develop the ways to cope with their own problems, made us feel ok to do something even though we have anxious or problems as on learning, training, developing process now. This is the same point to the disaster preparation projects.
Picture of the “Tojisya-kenkyuu”.
Picture of the published books.
With 12 hour sustainability following the quake during evacuations, you will see the sea level falls. That makes you move on to an additional safety place or receive out-of-town first hands.
So, we discussed in cooperate houses and group houses about emergency goods to spend 12hours.after the disaster happened.
Picture of the emergency goods.
Steps of evacuation drill in the Bethel
Select a captain of disaster preparation projects for their house and workplace.
At daily meeting, discuss over and over about time and place of the practice drill and disaster supplies kit.
Take a look at the safe evacuation place with Team DAISY. For the wintertime, a building with heating system on higher ground must be essential to reach.
Team DAISY will organize an evacuation guideline. Fix date and time of the evacuation practice drill.
On the day of a practice drill of evacuation
T.Confirm the day topics to be set up.
II. Relax the body with “Bosai-Minami Exercise”.
III.Confirm your escape routes on map.
IV. Confirm the roles of the forefront and the last, and one pushing a wheelchair, one carrying disaster supplies kit and one with flashlight and transceivers.
V.Begin to move by a signal.
VI.Tape the simulation as much as possible by video or pictures.
VII. Keep time in reaching point of 10 meters high.
VIII. Assemble the evacuation place and take a picture of all.
IX. Return and have a meeting to discuss “good point”, “challenged point” and “the better point to do”.
Summer practice for evacuation.
August 28th , 2007 1:30 pm.
Buraburaza·Reinbow House
Burabura is on the first floor of a three-story building, in 4-chome Odori, the shopping district of 4-chome town. We sell Bethel's goods and other shop’s goods.
Picture of Burabura shop.
“Buraburaza” was named in the meaning of people dropping by and see around the shop. drop into without reserve and wander (burabura).
In the time of an emergency, members will need to guide customers in the shop to the safety place as well.
On the second and third floors of “Buraburaza”, “Rainbow house” and “Hidamari” are located for females. Eight ladies live in now.
Participants : about 50 people.
The Bethel's member.
Visitors to the Bethel
people who are students and Bethel staff.
people who work for persons with disabilities welfare centers in the town.
The reflection on their experiences
As for help to member with physical disabilities.
She can do the daily routines, but worried about moving quicly in the time of evacuation. This became a central issue for us how to support.
Her comments;
On that day, I felt my physical condition bad and very anxiety, but other members really helped me a lot.
As I live by myself in the town, I thought I will ask someone to help me for the time of emergency.
Sharing information and knowledge on our difficulties to develop good practices on disaster preparedness.
We gained good practices on ‘securing safety at the occasion of disaster’ through the project.
Disaster Preparedness is crucial for anybody living regardless of whether he/she has suffering or disabilities to secure the life in Urakawa town. We gained good practices on ‘securing safety at the occasion of disaster’ through the project.
At first, we just felt fear about the disaster but now, we feel that disaster is something that we can cope with. Get practical knowledge on disaster beforehand and by telling our matters to others including the information about their condition and concrete needs. And after practices, we feel that we have several activities which we can cope with by ourselves as disaster preparation. ng or disabilities to secure the life in Urakawa town. We gained good practices on ‘securing safety at the occasion of disaster’ through the project.
Generally, there are still many discriminations and stigmas regarding mental disorders. Because of that, many people having difficulties to telling others their conditions and it is difficult to give information on concrete needs.
It was not difficult to develop and introduce good practice to tell others our conditions and needs because from the beginning, one of the Bethel's basic idea is ‘Sharing information on our difficulties’,
Disaster preparedness of the Bethel's house is disaster preparedness of the community
Evacuation drill at Burabura shows how disaster preparedness at the Bethel's house deeply related to their life and work.
For bethel's member, disaster preparedness is not the special activity but every day activity. lated to their life and work.
Through activities on disaster preparedness, the Bethels member realized a characteristics of Urakawa town again. Not just physiographical and geographical characteristics but also better understanding and connection with local people living in Urakawa town.
Urakawa is one of the most under populated area in Japan.
From the beginning, our intention was to contribute to this under populated community. By our knowledge and skill for securing safety of the guest as part of our work at Burabura, we are willing to share those skills to the community. Also, through our practice on evacuation drill of the group home, we will be able to share our skill with other people living in the same area including aged population, children and people with other disabilities.
Picture of the annual conference of the national psychiatric servicers and people with mental disorders
Networking is a key.
Even though there are members who have difficulties to participate in the other activities, Because of the consciousness on crisis management, they could participate in the evacuation drill at the group home. At the group home meeting members said that ‘disaster preparedness made us get together’. We can also provide knowledge on disaster preparedness to the new members joining the group house.
Cooperation and networking was important factors for those good outcomes and development of practical activities. Isolation and weaken humanity connection are the main concern of the mental disorder. It is said that mental disorder is a communication disorder.
Bethel's house members are involving to the activities with the understanding of that ‘recovery’ as to get back connections with others but curing disorders.
We made a network through Social Skill Training (SST) and telling our matters to others.
Not just a network among the members of Bethel but it consist many other networks including network among autonomy and Urakawa town support network (Urakawa town support network is a network consisted because of the limited social cervices in this rural community).
Started with the collaboration with National Rehabilitation Center of Persons with Disabilities, we collaborate with other regions in Japan which has the outstanding disaster preparedness activities. Network becomes bigger and bigger and Now, we have network among all over Japan.
Future issues
These disaster response activities have mainly stressed on Tunamis following Earthquakes.
Associated risks include landslides after an earthquake and mass evacuations under the worst whether condition, so that we need to think about more responses to those risks.
Owing to the project, members could share individual hardship on “I’m afraid that Mr. Auditory or Ms. Hallucination an auditory hallucination knock on me and I will be panic during an emergency” and “I’m afraid if I can not awaken in the case of emergency because of sleeping pills, but I can not sleep without them.”
we are still moving on to more disaster response activities to secure safety life in the region with having various hardships.
