Through your donations, our goal is to provide free counseling services to California fire survivors and first responders, many of whom are families and children who have undergone severe trauma and loss. Since the Camp Fire in 2018, Heartstrings Counseling has provided thousands of counseling sessions and hundreds of fire survivors. However, we need additional funding to ensure that no one is turned away.
How Heartstrings Counseling is Helping Fire Survivors
With the recent devastation of the Southern California fires, Heartstrings Counseling requests donations and sponsorships so we can provide free counseling sessions to these fire survivors who have lost everything.
We have personally met with many families who were in need of mental health services, yet they couldn't afford it. Most of the families we have met with had severe trauma from escaping the fire with flames on both sides of them, watching people perish as they were evacuating and racing for their lives out of the fire. The Camp Fire led to significant emotional distress for the survivors, who were also dealing with the additional challenges of evacuating, relocating and then rebuilding their homes and their lives.
Their home was their place of safety, comfort and security, and now their normality of life has been significantly disrupted. It is very common for these victims to experience a range of emotions and several stages of adjustment, including shock, anger, depression, PTSD and hopelessness. Through the use of EMDR (eye movement desensitization), brain spotting and trauma focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the emotional support plan has included restoration of safety and empowerment, improving the quality of life on a daily basis by providing them with a place to process through their trauma and grief.
