Vt. mental health system not prepared for flood trauma, experts say

LONDONDERRY, Vt. (WCAX) – Following a disaster, many people experience stress, anxiety, and depression. And while that is perfectly normal, experts don’t know if Vermont’s mental health system is ready to accommodate those needing help after July’s flood. In Londonderry, most people are still cleaning up their basements and re-opening their stores. Jelley’s Deli remains closed. Social worker Katey Doyle checks in on residents in the town.

“You go into your everyday life thinking, okay, I got this, and then you get hit with some sort of disaster and then it really just throws your head into a whole whirlwind,” Doyle of Neighborhood Connections said.

Neighborhood connections is a nonprofit center for health and social services. They have been seeing people dealing with COVID and mental health. Now with the floods, Doyle says they’re seeing more and more people walking through their doors. Most, she says, are still in crisis mode. While the community has been supportive of each other, many are feeling powerless. Doyle says it will be months until they can even put together a timeline to recovery.

“There’s stuff to be taken care of now, but we don’t even know the full scope of stuff that needs to be taken care of, so we’re all kind of in this limbo and that brings a lot of frustration,” Doyle said.

“It was traumatic. I remember standing on the railing there watching the water coming up and up and thinking how long is it going to go up? But it’s really a question of moving on afterwards,” Andrew Thompson said.

The Thompsons have lived in their home for years, the home survived tropical storm Irene, and now the flood of July 2023. Moving forward they think it might be time to move but before they decide to pack up, but they’re waiting to see what help they can get from the state and town.

“We want to know what’s going to happen to the river. If they’re going to make the house safer — then okay we say, we’ll stay here — no problem. If it doesn’t (happen) then there’s always the risk that it will flood again,” Elizabeth Thompson said.

With the flood’s last month, people are still on the road to recovery and figuring out the next steps for permanent shelter.

“It’s really hard to feel comfortable accessing any sort of mental health care when your home isn’t safe or sanitary,” Doyle said.

Doyle says that she expects after people are out of crisis mode – mental health facilities will see a wave of victims seeking care for their traumatic experiences. But Vermont’s case load is already hefty, and it might not be ready to take on even more.

“There’s not enough mental health providers, whether that’s clinicians, or support, or even agencies that provide it,” Doyle said.

Doyle says it’s up to the government – more policy and more funding toward mental health care to get people what they need. And, a shift of culture.

“We need the support of the state and we need support from everyone, to recognize that mental health and social services, like social workers, are super necessary, and I don’t know if we’re quite there yet,” Doyle said.

While there’s no simple solution to dealing with the mental health crisis after the flood, Vermonters remain, well, Vermont strong.

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