TERRE HAUTE —
While Montana residents try to deal with the devastating loss of homes and property due to wildfires, a Terre Haute man hopes to help people cope with their situations.
Richard Kennel is a clinical psychologist who has accepted an American Red Cross disaster assignment to go to Montana as a mental health volunteer.
The state is currently experience multiple wildfires, including six active fires exceeding 173,000 acres near Rosebud, Mont.
The state has had 39 wildfires since May, and more than 20 are still active due to dry weather and high temperatures. Many of the fires were caused by lightning, according to a multi-agency website. The fires are causing a housing shortage, dangerous travel conditions and potentially hazardous air quality.
“For a long time, I wanted to do disaster mental health,” Kennel said Tuesday afternoon in the midst of preparations for his early Wednesday departure. “It just came to a point in my career where I could afford to leave for a couple of weeks to go help.”
Kennel got the call to go on Tuesday around 10 a.m. It’s a 24-hour response, so he had to jump into preparation mode. That means having appointments rescheduled for his clients at Associated Psychologists, as well as putting together what he thinks he might need during his two weeks away.
He said he has no idea where he will be lodged, whether it will be at an evacuation shelter or in a nearby motel. But he will most likely work at a shelter for displaced residents where he can do “in-the-moment counseling.”
And he also expects to talk to some of the other emergency volunteers who need to talk about their own experiences and frustrations as they try to help people.
Kennel went through disaster training for the Wabash Valley chapter of American Red Cross a few months ago. He assisted following the Garfield Towers apartment fire earlier this year by offering counseling at the emergency shelter set up at North Vigo High School.
“This is my first time out on a national call, so I’m kind of excited about it,” he said.
He also serves as an armed forces facilitator, meeting with service members and their families who are reconnecting in the transition home after deployment. He has been to Maryland, California and Texas for assignments already.
People will be dealing with drastic change in their lives, he said, and they won’t know what is going to happen in the future. He will try to “normalize” what they’re going through to give them a framework to rebuild their lives.
“It’s confusing, and most of them have not been through something like this,” he said.
Kennel said his approach to helping people will likely just begin with walking around the shelter talking to people, striking up conversations, and letting people talk about their situations. Most won’t know he is a mental health counselor unless he tells them.
“I’m really looking forward to the change to be out there and meet new people and help,” he said.
Carol Stevens, executive director of the Wabash Valley Chapter, said the Red Cross always needs volunteers, including those with professional skills.
For more information about volunteering, visit www.redcross.org and click on Preparing and Getting Trained.
Reporter Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @TribStarLisa.
News
Valley man heads to Montana to help wildfire victims
- News
-
-
Terre Haute Coke & Carbon: Cleaning up a legacy
When heavy equipment starts moving dirt next week at the former Terre Haute Coke and Carbon industrial site, city officials hope a new day will be dawning for a long-neglected part of town.
-
Diversity growing: New census report shows changing face of Indiana
Like the rest of the nation, Indiana is continuing on a trend toward greater diversity as the numbers of Hispanics, blacks, Asians and other minorities are rising at a faster pace than whites.
-
Valley following diversity path of nation, Indiana
Like much of Indiana, the majority white population in the Wabash Valley is on the decline, while minority populations are on the increase.
-
Court lets walkout fines against House Democrats stand
House Democrats who had to pay more than $100,000 in fines after they walked out of the Indiana Statehouse two years ago during a legislative session won’t get the help they sought from the Indiana Supreme Court.
-
Arrest made, victim identified in Rosedale homicide
The victim in a Parke County homicide that occurred last week has been identified as Kathryn A. Bays, 55, of Rosedale.
-
Vermillion industrial park gets award for transition
The Vermillion Rise Mega Park, a former chemical weapons base now an industrial park north of Clinton, has gotten national attention for its rapid transition to civilian from military use.
-
Slight damage from evening storm
Very little damage was reported from a late evening storm that rolled through the Wabash Valley on Tuesday.
-
U.S. 41 lane restrictions
Motorists should expect delays because of lane restrictions on U.S. 41 in Sullivan County next week as a railroad company repairs a rail crossing 1.2 miles north of Shelburn.
-
Back home again: Items from vaudeville stage and Terre Haute native sent to Historical Society
The staff at the Vigo County Historical Museum are excited about the arrival of priceless items used by Terre Haute-native Rose Fehrenbach and her husband, Edward Pierce, to promote their Vaudeville acts in the early 20th century.
-
Husband charged in Archer homicide
Terre Haute Police have found local reports of domestic violence between a Terre Haute man and his wife, whose body was discovered wrapped in a tarp and dumped in an Ohio ditch.
-
National Road panels dedicated
Rewind to the mid-1800s, when the trotting of a horse and buggy on National Road could be heard alongside the voices of people heading west, searching for opportunities.
-
Pence sets agency priorities
Following a directive from Gov. Mike Pence, state agency heads are reorganizing some of their top priorities to better reflect the first-year governor’s “roadmap for Indiana” plan for improving the state’s economy, infrastructure and health.
-
Another I-70 traffic snarl: Three injured in two related crashes
Three people were injured Monday afternoon from a pair of crashes on Interstate 70 that temporarily closed the highway and diverted traffic into Terre Haute.
-
Terre Haute man still hospitalized after scooter/car crash
A Terre Haute man remained hospitalized Monday at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after his scooter struck a car early Saturday on Wabash Avenue at 25th Street.
-
Overpass repairs causing Interstate 70 lane restrictions
Repairs to the Frye Road overpass in southeastern Vigo County has caused a restriction to the left lane of Interstate 70 between the 13- and 14-mile markers, about two miles east of the Indiana 46 exit.
-
Indiana woman condemned for killing at 15 is freed
A woman who was sentenced to death at age 16 for taking part in the torture and murder of a 78-year-old Bible studies teacher was released from an Indiana prison Monday after growing to middle age behind bars.
-
Grant will let Vigo Library evaluate map collection
The Vigo County Public Library has received a $2,000 grant to evaluate its historic map collection, a library official announced Monday.
-
Four juveniles caught on elementary school roof; one injured jumping off
Police say a juvenile was lucky to have suffered only a broken leg after jumping from the roof of a Vigo County elementary school – dropping about 30 feet to the ground.
-
Farmersburg man sentenced after guilty plea in rape case
A Farmersburg man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to a rape that occurred at his parents’ residence in May 2012.
-
Still no information being released on Rosedale homicide
No new information was being released Monday afternoon concerning a Rosedale homicide.
-
Fathers take time out to spend quality time with children, grandchildren
A big, circular white cloud rose up through the tall atrium as Mike Woods held his 4-year son, Nathan, Sunday at the Terre Haute Children’s Museum.
-
On Friday, hit the park and raise funds for skateboarders
The On-board United Initiative — O.U.I. for short — has scheduled an all-ages fundraising event Friday in honor of national Go Skateboarding Day.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Sentencing law could benefit juveniles
Monica Foster is a longtime public defender who’s been pushing uphill in the legal system for a long time. So, when she says the General Assembly is making progress protecting the rights of the disenfranchised, it’s worth stopping to listen to her.
-
Mastering the art of Gardening
The Wabash Valley Master Gardeners group gathered over the weekend to marvel at each other’s gardens on its annual garden tour. The event was a chance for master gardeners to showcase their labor of love, meanwhile sharing stories about their plants.
-
RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: June 17, 2013
The Vigo County Health Department inspected the following food establishments May 28-31:
-
Lawn mower fire destroys barn
A lawn mower that caught fire was cited as the cause of a fire that destroyed a single story barn Sunday in the 2000 block of North Chamberlain Street, said Harold Osborn, assistant fire chief of the Lost Creek Township Fire Department.
-
Wabash Valley residents vie for spot on Wheel of Fortune
Ellen Fujawa of Zionsville wants to be on the popular syndicated Wheel of Fortune game show.
-
No ID yet on body found in Rosedale home
Sheriff Mike Eslinger said his department is waiting to obtain an immediate family’s confirmation of a woman found dead in a home in the 2900 block of West Rosehill Lane.
-
Vigo School Corp. eliminating bus transportation for middle school sports teams
The Vigo County School Corp. will no longer provide school bus transportation for middle school athletic events, starting with the 2013-14 school year.
-
B.J. RILEY: Fathers are an inspiring figure
Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a salesman. In grade school, I was so excited about selling candy bars or candles or whatever the chosen product.
- More News Headlines
-





