Help for all People in the First Days and Weeks

Key steps can help adults cope. Adults can then provide better care for children. Create safe conditions. Be calm. Be hopeful. Be friendly. Connect to others.

Be sensitive to difficult people. Encourage respect for adult decision-making.

In general help people:

• Get food
• Get a safe place to live
• Get help from a doctor or nurse if hurt
• Contact loved ones or friends
• Keep children with parents or relatives
• Understand what happened
• Understand what is being done
• Know where to get help
• Meet their own needs

Avoid certain things:

• Don’t force people to tell their stories
• Don’t probe for personal details
• Do not Say:
  • “Everything will be OK.”
  • “At least you survived.”
  • What you think people should feel
  • How people should have acted
  • People suffered for personal behaviors or beliefs
  • Negative things about available help
• Don’t make promises that you can’t keep
  • (Ex: “You will go home soon.”)

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