£1.5m To Heal The Island's Trauma

Wednesday, 12 July 2023 11:00

The government is widening the availability of its support packages following the three major incidents in Jersey last winter.

The fatal explosion at Haut Du Mont, the collision between Commodore Goodwill and L'Ecume II fishing trawler and the flooding at Grands Vaux significantly impacted the community.

Islanders still feel the effects of the three major incidents, occurring in just under six weeks.

Director of Public Health, Professor Peter Bradley, says some people have fantastic resilience and cope well, but they want to be able to support those who do not.

"What we're offering now is that psychological support and some of it is very specialist to do with the trauma and how to get people through those very difficult times that they may experience after those events."

Jersey's government set up a project to support those directly affected in the aftermath, but is now offering the service to more people.

It is costing around £1.5 million, but Public Health says it will only use the budget when an islander accesses the services.

The team behind the support service liaised with those who have worked on similar projects to help the community after UK disasters including the Grenfell Tower fire and the petrol station explosion in Donegal.

The service will be integrated with the current support programme so people can access a wide range of help.

Public Health also understands that feelings may be triggered later down the line for some people, as everyone will process the events differently, meaning the programme will be open for a long time.

Islanders can access the support package through the government's Mental Health Network.