In the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the psychological impact of the May 3 wildfire and evacuation two researchers from Laval University are spending three weeks in Fort McMurray listening to the stories of those who experienced it first-hand.
“The more people we get here and the better the picture we have of what the needs are and what the symptoms are and what arises from a tragedy like a fire here, the better and more appropriate the resources we can send are,” said Laura-Émilie Savage, one of the two researchers.
The pair are aiming to hold face-to-face interviews in English or in French with anyone who was forced to leave the community because of the fire, regardless of whether they suffered a loss.
The study is being done by Geneviève Belleville Ph.D., professor and psychologist, from the School of Psychology at Laval University and is being funded through a grant from the Institute for Loss Reduction.
There are two ways to take part. You can share your story through a face-to-face interview which can be arranged by texting (587) 919-5032 or emailing WeAreInterestedInYourStory@gmail.com. You can also take part in the online survey which takes about half an hour to complete and will be available until the end of September.
“In each of the interviews we ask people to share their stories with us and explain to us how they personally experienced the evacuation, the fires, and the time that they were away, in a crisis centre or with relatives or other settings,” said Camille Pepin, the other researcher. “We also ask people about their symptoms. Could be post-traumatic stress symptoms, sleep problems, depression, anxiety, or lack of, actually.”
She said some people don’t have those symptoms or have yet to experience them, which is important information for their research as well.
“It’s important also to say that it’s okay to not be feeling good. It’s okay to have gone through such an event and feel bad or sad or stressed or anything. Some people feel like they’re so lucky to not have lost their house and not have lost anything actually, no material things, but can still come back to Fort McMurray and feel like everything has changed or that some things have changed, that there are less people in town, they see the burnt trees,” she said. “And also we hear that a lot of people were really scared during the evacuation and we hear the stories and we get goosebumps and shivers because many people were actually, truly afraid to die in this and I can’t imagine.”
The pair said one of their goals is to help the people in our community through the healing process by conducting the interviews because talking about what people have seen and experienced can help to treat post-traumatic stress.
And for Savage it’s something she knows about first-hand.
“My desire to come here is from personal interest in trauma-related outcomes. For myself I’ve been in a village that was flooded years ago and seeing the outcomes of it in our population and community was something that prompted me to think ‘I’d like to do that and be there’ and I think the research here is really important in terms of trying to bring the research forward and trying to put that in support of the people that have experienced these tragic events,” said Savage.
Both young women expressed compassion talking about the evacuation and true concern for the people of our community. They are genuinely interested in hearing your stories and in working with you to ensure the research benefits others who may experience a future traumatic event.
You can learn more about them and about the project on their Facebook page.
