Jeong Myeong-geun, Hwaseong Mayor: "Psychological Counseling Support for Arisel Disaster Relief Personnel"

Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, has decided to provide psychological counseling support not only to the bereaved families of the Arisel factory fire accident but also to disaster relief personnel.

Hwaseong City has decided to provide psychological counseling not only to the bereaved families of the Arisel factory fire accident but also to the support personnel involved in managing the incident. The photo shows the Integrated Psychological Support Team for the Arisel factory fire.
[Photo by Hwaseong City]

On the 3rd, Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun stated at the Disaster Safety Countermeasures Meeting, "Relief personnel involved in disaster situations can also suffer from trauma," and took such measures.

Accordingly, from this day forward, the city has expanded psychological counseling support targets to include not only the bereaved families of the Arisel fire victims but also witnesses and relief personnel such as firefighters, public officials, and workers who participated in rescue, recovery, and volunteer activities during the disaster.

Earlier, on the 24th of last month, the city deployed mental health specialists from the Hwaseong Mental Health Welfare Center to provide professional counseling for the psychological support of the bereaved families. The city is also participating in the National Trauma Center's integrated psychological support team, working alongside the Occupational Trauma Center and the Disaster Psychological Recovery Support Center to provide psychological support to the bereaved families.

Since the 2nd, a psychiatrist has been stationed at the Modunurim Center, where the bereaved families' shelter is located, providing real-time psychological treatment to victims, including those showing symptoms of sleep and anxiety disorders.

Mayor Jeong said, "At this point, the most helpful support for the bereaved families will be psychological counseling," and added, "We will support the bereaved families and disaster relief personnel so that they can receive counseling whenever they want."

Regarding the Hwaseong Arisel factory fire accident, if psychological distress and stress require counseling, contacting the Hwaseong Mental Health Welfare Center will allow access to consultations with mental health professionals.