We will continue our activities to support the life of those who evacuated
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The Social Welfare Councils of Fukushima Prefecture and its 32 municipalities will assign 157 staff as “living-support consultants”. The staff will work closely with those in temporary housing, as well as those in public and privately rented housing, providing consultation regarding current problems and future concerns, and introducing systems and services according to their needs. The staff come from different age groups, with various working experiences and areas of expertise. They will be given a 3-day basic course to learn the operational basics.
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The first day of the training revisits the experience of Kashiwazaki City Council of Social Welfare in providing temporary housing assistance during the Chuetsu offshore earthquake. On the second day, the participants will learn more about the role of living-support consultants, how to provide individual support, such as giving a house visit and understand needs. The third day includes how to make bonds between people and organizations, provide community support and concludes by reviewing various guidelines, such as crime and disaster prevention measures. The aim of this workshop is to teach living-support consultants not only necessary skills and knowledge, but also the importance of organization and team work.
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The first workshop session was held on August 9th with 47 participants and will be held five times until October. Among the participants, there are some who already made house visits to temporary housing, they share and learn from each other’s opinion and experience. At the beginning of the workshop, most of the participants looked tense as they will play a critical role of supporting the live of those who evacuated. But after the three-day workshop, they had lively conversations and smiles came back on their faces, as they built a strong relationship with each other during the session. “I’m going to make a bright self introduction so they will remember my face”, “I won’t miss small changes”, “I will deliver accurate information”, the various goals of the participants voiced their passion regarding house visits as they went back to their workplace.
Year 2011 Municipal Council of Social Welfare Living-support Consultant Workshop (Basic Course)
Hosted by: Fukushima Prefecture Council of Social Welfare
Co-sponsored by: Japan Volunteer Coordinators Association (JVCA)
Kashiwazaki City Council of Social Welfare