STRENGH OF COMMUNITY HELPS TO HEAL SCARS
Strength of community helps to heal scars
BY MARK McKELVEY
m.mckelvey@ulsterherald.com
In the wake of the pain and suffering felt by thousands of people in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb, the sense of community solidarity united the area as people helped each other to overcome the traumatic events.
Within a few days of the bomb, the Omagh Trauma and Recovery team was set up and 670 people had begun availing of the counselling and support facilities available there. Most of those had psychological and emotional problems linked to the bombing.
From this work, the Omagh Trauma and Recovery team developed a new treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. The findings were published and, on the basis of that, the Northern Ireland Centre for Trauma and Transformation was established in Omagh in 2002.
Ten years after the bomb, meanwhile, the emotional scars are still fresh for many of the victims who only now are ready to seek help at the Trauma Centre. It is still receiving approximately 15 new referrals a year of people affected by the Omagh bomb.
Trauma Centre director David Bolton was a health manager in 1998 and part of his responsibility was to put in place services to support people affected by the bomb.
"On the Saturday evening of the bombing, I was in the Leisure Centre and it was immediately clear that the scale of this event was enormous. As well as the horrendous death toll, there was over 400 injuries of which 175 were very serious and further thousands of people had been exposed to traumatic events at the scene on the street itself, the highly traumatic events at the hospital, the Leisure Centre and the temporary mortuary.
"The scenes at all of these locations affected thousands of people and it was a deeply traumatic experience in the life of this community," says David.
Nothing could ever have prepared the support services for the event itself and the aftermath of August 15, 1998; yet they coped admirably. The reason for this, David says, was thanks to the number of other organisations which rallied to Omagh's aid and the community fortitude demonstrated in the town and surrounding communities.
"There is no doubt the whole town came together to support each other. That neighbourly spirit made such a difference.
"The community took the initiative to respond to help those that were vulnerable and this was sustained over a long period of time which was deeply moving.
"The good news is that most people coped very well, both in the short and long-term, being able to rise above their experiences.
"There is a tremendous common purpose and spirit in trying to deal with a major tragedy like this. There was a very strong desire for the community to stand in solidarity against this kind of violence and I think this was very important.
"It was reclaiming our humanity and was an important message that Omagh as a town had held together, and although difficult at times, Omagh is now a stronger place as a consequence of the experiences of the past ten years."
BY MARK McKELVEY
m.mckelvey@ulsterherald.com
In the wake of the pain and suffering felt by thousands of people in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb, the sense of community solidarity united the area as people helped each other to overcome the traumatic events.
Within a few days of the bomb, the Omagh Trauma and Recovery team was set up and 670 people had begun availing of the counselling and support facilities available there. Most of those had psychological and emotional problems linked to the bombing.
From this work, the Omagh Trauma and Recovery team developed a new treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. The findings were published and, on the basis of that, the Northern Ireland Centre for Trauma and Transformation was established in Omagh in 2002.
Ten years after the bomb, meanwhile, the emotional scars are still fresh for many of the victims who only now are ready to seek help at the Trauma Centre. It is still receiving approximately 15 new referrals a year of people affected by the Omagh bomb.
Trauma Centre director David Bolton was a health manager in 1998 and part of his responsibility was to put in place services to support people affected by the bomb.
"On the Saturday evening of the bombing, I was in the Leisure Centre and it was immediately clear that the scale of this event was enormous. As well as the horrendous death toll, there was over 400 injuries of which 175 were very serious and further thousands of people had been exposed to traumatic events at the scene on the street itself, the highly traumatic events at the hospital, the Leisure Centre and the temporary mortuary.
"The scenes at all of these locations affected thousands of people and it was a deeply traumatic experience in the life of this community," says David.
Nothing could ever have prepared the support services for the event itself and the aftermath of August 15, 1998; yet they coped admirably. The reason for this, David says, was thanks to the number of other organisations which rallied to Omagh's aid and the community fortitude demonstrated in the town and surrounding communities.
"There is no doubt the whole town came together to support each other. That neighbourly spirit made such a difference.
"The community took the initiative to respond to help those that were vulnerable and this was sustained over a long period of time which was deeply moving.
"The good news is that most people coped very well, both in the short and long-term, being able to rise above their experiences.
"There is a tremendous common purpose and spirit in trying to deal with a major tragedy like this. There was a very strong desire for the community to stand in solidarity against this kind of violence and I think this was very important.
"It was reclaiming our humanity and was an important message that Omagh as a town had held together, and although difficult at times, Omagh is now a stronger place as a consequence of the experiences of the past ten years."
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH10An/35
Published Date: 14-Aug-08
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