Cincinnati Local Response-
Starting with a Sticker Box Full of Toys
Over the last year, we have
established a team of child life specialists in the Cincinnati area as a part
of the Red Cross Mental Health volunteer team. We
will be called for any local incidents (flooding, house fires, shootings, etc.)
where there are kids that need help from individuals who specialize in children
and trauma.
Tuesday night we were called
for our first assignment….
Nightmare at Dream Street Super 8
motel
Patrick
Brennan, Cincinnati10:12 a.m. EST December 3, 2014
(Photo:
The Enquirer/Patrick Reddy)
UNION- Dennis
Shollenbarger and Amber Reynolds caught a glimpse of the shooting scene in
the midst of their chaotic, mandatory evacuation from the Florence Super 8
motel on Dream Street.
Shollenbarger, 34, and
Reynolds, 29, are extended-stay residents at the motel. An engaged couple
("we'll get married when the money comes in," Reynolds joked.),
they were sleeping when violence erupted in their building.
About 10 minutes
after they heard a shot fired, they said, police burst in and rushed them out
of the room for protection. A situation in a nearby room escalated when an
unidentified suspect brandished an automatic weapon during a drug
investigation inside one of the motel rooms.
"We just heard
racket. Just a bunch of noises in the hallway that woke us up. People
yelling,
'call 911,'"
Reynolds said of the moments leading up to when she witnessed the gore.
"Whoever it was that was shot fell (back) against the wall. There was blood
everywhere."
The bloody scene was traumatizing enough, Shollenbarger and
Reynolds agreed, but their problems didn't end there.
Florence Police Lt. Roger Allen took cover and returned fire
after being shot at by the suspect, according to a news release. The suspect
died, but police did not say if it was a result of shots fired by Allen.
Allen sustained a minor head injury, was treated at the University of
Cincinnati Medical Center and released, according to authorities. Police were
unsure if Allen's injury was the result of the gunfire.
There was no time to gather personal belongings during the
evacuation. Shollenbarger and Reynolds plunged into the cold without shoes,
socks or winter coats on. And they weren't alone -- the Red Cross ended up
distributing at least 30 pairs of fresh socks to those displaced by Tuesday's
shooting.
Shollenbarger and Reynolds were two of 38 residents displaced
Tuesday at the motel on 7928 Dream Street.
Life at the Dream Street motel, as described by Shollenbarger
and Reynolds, was really more of a nightmare, they said Tuesday while still
settling in at St. Timothy's Church where the Red Cross was caring for the
displaced people.
Thirty-eight
extended-stay residents of the Florence Super 8 motel were relocated to St.
Timothy's Church by the Northern Kentucky Red Cross.(Photo:
Enquirer/Patrick Brennan)
|
Annie Krause and I changed
our plans and responded immediately Tuesday night going to the shelter to work
with the children after their traumatic ordeal.
This being our first assignment, we quickly realized we were not as
prepared as we had thought and we scrambled to gather supplies and rush out to
the scene. I happen to remember that I
had a sticker box full of toys given to me by my sister-in-law when I first
entered the field of child life years ago.
I dug up that little box and jumped in my car.
Upon arrival, we found that
the shelter was under heavy security with police officers and investigators
questioning anyone who attempted to enter and also conducting private
interviews with each individual from the motel.
We set up a play space in
the shelter by turning folding tables on their sides to form walls around a small
area of carpet in the large room full of people and cots. Annie and I invited the children to come play
and they easily agreed.
Sticker box full of toys to
the rescue!
For a couple hours, we
provided child-centered play which quickly created a sense of normalcy and the
relief felt in the room from adults and children alike was tangible.
Some of the children just
wanted to play and run, some wanted to talk while they played.
Their biggest concern Tuesday
night was safety and they had a lot of questions about the cops and why they
were there. Their questions seemed to
center around figuring out if they were good-guys or bad guys. It is understandable that that would be
confusing after seeing guns drawn and hearing yelling for them to “GET OUT
NOW!” before rushing them to this safe shelter.
We helped them talk and process through these concerns and even had one
of the cops come join us in our play space for a time. Some of the adults also asked to join the
play, asking for a deck of cards and coloring books as they joined together
just outside our play space, smiling and talking with each other as they used
the items we gave them.
One mom spoke to us for a
while explaining that she was worried her 3 year old would not sleep tonight
since she was not allowed time to grab anything to take with her as the swat
team rushed them out. The three year old
sleeps with her special blankie and has never been without it. This little girl spent quite a lot of time running
and playing with a ball to the point that she was hot and sweaty. We’re hoping she successfully wore herself
out and had a good nights sleep last night after we cleaned up our toys and
left the kids to bedtime on the cots.
The next morning, the Red
Cross informed us that they needed more assistance from us and Tina Ulanowski went
straight to the shelter. She was
immediately met by scared, frustrated and exhausted adults and kids and spent
some time talking with them about their experiences. She noted the typical traumatized behaviors
some of them were exhibiting. She then
took the kids to the play area and gave them the opportunity to draw about the
event, if they’d like. A couple of the
children made pictures of policemen and asked if they could give them to the
cops that were present at the shelter.
Tina helped them write a message on the picture before they handed them
to the officers. Immediately after, they
wanted to play and their play quickly turned to pretend
play with “policemen” and “rescue missions”.
With Tina’s skillful guidance, they were able to play through their
experience as they were beginning to process the details of the event….since
after all: Play is the Work of Children!
Tina also conjured up a few
more toys J
Tina left mid-day for her
paid child life job J, and Heather Storey took over after working an
early morning 8 hour shift at the hospital.
The Red Cross staff welcomed
Heather enthusiastically and explained that the investigators had requested the
adults ONLY be allowed back to the motel.
They did not want any children to come back yet and Heather was able to
spend time processing, supporting and playing with the kids and teens during
this time. They played and talked easily
about their thoughts and fears around the adults returning to the motel. Heather was able to discuss with the older
ones ways to cope with and express anxieties.
She then played a rousing game of soccer (modified soccer) with them all
while holding a sleeping baby in her arms (MAD SKILL!). However, she watched their energetic play
quickly change to quiet, reserved and somber play when a Red Cross staffer came
and announced to the kids that they were just informed the kids would soon be
able to go back to the motel with the adults too. With the drastic change in mood, Heather was
able to continue to provide a safe place for them to talk openly and express
their feelings. They talked about their
thoughts and feelings about returning to the motel themselves. Shortly after talking through those fears
together, the adults arrived, and everyone began the busy work of closing the
shelter. One child became tearful saying
goodbye to Heather and told her he really wanted her to come back to the motel
with them. She reminded him of the things
he can do to cope….
… And we all hope that our
time with them has started them down the road of turning a potentially
traumatic situation into one of growth and finding new strength.
We now realize we need more Cincinnati child life specialists on our volunteer team and a better kit of intentionally selected toys for our next assignment. CLS's, let us know if you want to join us!
Katie Nees, CCLS, MSHS
Annie Krause, BS, CCLS
Tina Ulanowski, CCLS, M.Ed
Heather Storey, MS, CCLS
