Kesennuma Regional Center Community Support Division Activity Report[Resident support project]
1.

Consultation support project
For resident support in FY2020, we consulted on mental health from children to seniors and provided
support at the request of individuals, family members, and related individuals. At the request of the Health
Promotion Section of the Health and Welfare Division of Minamisanriku Town (hereinafter, “Town Health
Promotion Section”), we provided visiting support to residents considered to require health status confirmation.
This was based on health surveys of residents living in public housing conducted in Miyagi Prefecture andMinamisanriku Town.

2.

Community resident exchange project(1) Support project for socially isolated residents (enrichment activity for men)
The poor state of male exchange, such as few male participants in exchange events, is an emerging
community issue in Kesennuma City as the town development progresses following the Great East Japan
Earthquake. The Kesennuma Regional Center (hereinafter, “Center”) has provided lectures on health,experiences for activities, and time for exchange with the aim of improving social isolation and promoting
physical and mental health. Events were co-sponsored by the Health Promotion Division of the Health andWelfare Department of Kesennuma City (hereinafter, “City Health Promotion Division”). We asked related
departments in Kesennuma City (community comprehensive support center, Elderly Care Division, Social
Welfare Division, Karakuwa General Branch, Motoyoshi General Branch); medical institutions; andconsultation organizations for their cooperation in accessing the target population.
The planned implementation content initially focused on what was popular with participants; however, withthe spread of COVID-19, the content, venue, time, etc., were changed to what was feasible. We proceeded withdiscussions with the City Health Promotion Division, which was the co-sponsor, for implementation.
We planned to host events seven times a year, but the first session was suspended to prevent the spread of
COVID-19. Afterwards, we maintained flexibility while implementing social distancing and mini-health lectures
where we could maintain COVID-19 countermeasures for the day (held six times, total number of participants:
17 people).
(2) Dementia Café Kokoccha
We cooperated with the dementia café, Kokoccha, which is sponsored by the Miyagi Prefectural Dementia
Disease Medical Center (Utsushikawa Tetsujinkai Mitsumine Hospital). It provides a venue where people andcaregivers can interact so that we can approach people who struggle to access medical examinations and thus
reduce the burden on caregivers. This was scheduled to be held 12 times a year, but was held only once (11participants) to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

[Support for supporters project]
1.

Professional staff dispatch
One professional staff member was dispatched to the City Health Promotion Division and Town Health
Promotion Section, and we endeavored to reduce the work burden of the public health nurses in the local
government by assisting with their workload.

2.

Supporter’s mental health support project(1) Kesennuma City staff health counseling service booth (opening of a mental health counseling servicebooth)A health counseling service booth for local government employees (hereinafter, “counseling service booth”)
was opened in Kesennuma City Hall on the third Wednesday of every month from 10:00 to 16:00. A total of 27
people used the service. By opening the booth, we provided support in collaboration with the Personnel Divisionof the General Affairs Department of Kesennuma City.

- 30 -(2)Minamisanriku Town staff health counseling service booth (opening of a mental health counseling service booth)We opened a counseling service booth for local government employees twice a month on weekdays and holidays. As arule, on weekdays, it was held from 14:00 to 19:00 on the second Thursday of the month, and on holidays, it was held from11:00 to 15:00 on a Saturday or Sunday. A total of 14 people used the service. By opening the booth, we provided support
in collaboration with the General Affairs Division of Minamisanriku Town (hereinafter, “Town General Affairs Division”).
3.

Alcohol-related problem response project
We contracted the project to the Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai and provided support for establishing the Motoyoshi
Regular Meeting for Alcohol Temperance.

[Human resource development project]
1. Supporters’ mental health promotion support project
We received requests for and provided training and lectures for staff involved in disaster victim support, as well as staff
overseeing mental health and welfare in affected areas (Table 1).
Table 1 Implementation status of supporter’s mental health promotion support projects
Implementation
date

Hostmunicipality

2020/4/8–
2021/3/17

Kesennuma City

2020/10/13

Kesennuma CityMinamisanriku
Town

2020/10/20

Kesennuma City

Training name / content

23rd Hope Garden staff training:
Social skills training (SST)“Learn about mental illness” –workshop for supporters of health,
medical care, welfare, etc.
“Learn about mental illness” –workshop for supporters of health,
medical care, welfare, etc.

Number ofparticipantsRequester

129 total

Employment
Transition SupportOffice for Persons
with Disabilities Co.
Ltd., Hope Garden,
Kesennuma

53*

Kesennuma Healthand Welfare Office32

Kesennuma Healthand Welfare Office

Asahigaoka Gakuen
Children’sFamily
CenterSenrikai Communal
Staff training: “Mental healthLiving
Support2020/11/25
Kesennuma City training: Taking good care of10Office, Care Home
yourself”
Megumi*Participants include those at the Kesennuma City venue, as well as online participants at the Minamisanriku Town venue
2020/11/13

Kesennuma City

“Activities of theRegional Center”

Kesennuma

3[Raising public awareness project]
1. Opening of mental health counseling service rooms
Upon the schools’ request, we established counseling rooms for students, their families, and educators to improve theirmental health and prevent mental illness.
Kesennuma City Hospital School of Nursing student counseling room (20 times a year, 29 people in total used the service).
Kesennuma City Associate Nursing School student counseling room (32 times a year, 8 people in total used the service).
2.

Workplace mental health promotion support project(1) Minamisanriku Town staff training
We held workshops for Minamisanriku Town staff with the aim of supporting those who returned to work
(9 participants).

3.

Resident mental health public awareness promotion project(1) Lectures① Training for Hashikami District health promotion staff
We conducted lectures and relaxation experiences on how to skillfully manage stress for Hashikami District healthpromotion staff (43 participants).

- 31 -(2)Various municipal activity support projects① Cooperation with “Public awareness initiative for suicide prevention”
We co-sponsored the public awareness initiative for suicide prevention conducted by Kesennuma City duringSuicide Prevention Week in September, and Suicide Prevention Strengthening Month in March. Moreover, weconducted panel exhibitions and distributed public awareness materials in collaboration with the City Health Promotion
Division. During this period, we cooperated with the Kesennuma City radio station “Radio Kesennuma” (hereinafter,“Radio Kesennuma”) to transmit the program information on suicide prevention.
We cooperated with the creation and exhibition of public awareness materials on suicide prevention that
Minamisanriku Town conducted during Suicide Prevention Strengthening Month in March.
② Cooperation in “Initiative for ‘Health promotion awareness project’”
We had planned to host the “Health promotion festival” in Kesennuma based on the “Kesennuma Health Plan 21”
and “Food Education Promotion Plan” with the aim of maintaining and promoting the health of residents. However,
due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was changed to a public awareness initiative using a panel exhibition. The Center
cooperated with the project by creating panels, exhibitions, and leaflets.
③ Distribution of public awareness materials for local government employees
We distributed leaflets (Kesennuma City: “Stress from the spread and countermeasures for COVID-19: Maintainyour physical and mental health” leaflet and wet wipes, Minamisanriku Town: “Sleep debt” leaflet) for providing
information regarding mental health among local government employees.
④ Posting health counseling service booth flyer column for local government employees
We posted a “Breather column” on mental health on the monthly counseling service booth flyers provided by theTown General Affairs Division, with the aim of promoting the use of counseling service booths by local government
employees.
⑤ Other training projects
We cooperated with lectures given by local governments to community residents, and we aimed to spread
understanding and knowledge about mental health (Table 2).

Table 2 Implementation status of various municipal activity support projects
Host
Number ofImplementation dateTraining name / content
municipality
participants
FY2020 Mental health promotion
2020/12/8
Kesennuma City
18
lecture (Motoyoshi)
FY2020 Mental health promotion
2020/12/14
Kesennuma City
20
lecture (Kesennuma)
FY2020 Mental health promotion
2020/12/24
Kesennuma City
25
lecture (Karakuwa)
FY2020 Attentive listening course –2021/1/28
Kesennuma City
30
“Energize your mind!”
FY2020
Healthpromotion
2020/10/19–10/30
awareness project panel exhibition
Kesennuma City
2020/11/2–11/13(alternative project for healthfestival)
Minamisanriku Town alcoholrelated problems countermeasure
Minamisanriku
2020/10/21
project – Health picture-story show
13Town– “The health of the princess andturtle and alcohol”
Minamisanriku Town alcoholrelated problems countermeasure
Minamisanriku
2021/1/15
project – Health picture-story show
6Town
– “The health of the princess andturtle and alcohol”

4.

Requester
Kesennuma City
Kesennuma City
Kesennuma City
Kesennuma City

Kesennuma City

Minamisanriku
Town

Minamisanriku
Town

Public relations project(1) Posting columns in “Sanriku Shimpo”
We posted the column “Sanriku Mental Health Communication” once a month in collaboration with the Miyagi
Prefecture Kesennuma Health and Welfare Office in the local newspaper Sanriku Shimpo, which is a monthly
subscription mainly in Kesennuma City, with the aim of providing information on mental health to residents. The
posted contents included items compatible with the local circumstances and content relating to the Great East JapanEarthquake. The Center oversaw six columns. Of these, the September posting of “Aiming for a society where nobody- 32 -

is forced into a corner: Thinking about suicide prevention” and the November posting of “Fostering community ties:
Working together, calling out, watching over, and being considerate” were created in collaboration with the City
Health Promotion Division and Town Health Promotion Section.
(2) Dissemination of information through radio
We disseminated information via Radio Kesennuma with the aim of informing a wide range of residents how tomaintain their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The text was created in collaboration with the City
Health Promotion Division.
[Various activity support projects]

As in FY2019, in FY2020, we cooperated with the operating of the “Wakachiai Café,” which was hosted by theSendai Grief Care Study Group as support for bereaved families.
[Children’s Mental Health Care Community Base Project]
1.

Resident support

As in FY2019, in FY2020, we continued to respond to consultations with children and students in the area. Most
consultations were connected through schools, and the number of support cases increased compared to that in FY2019.
2.

Training projects

We received requests for and provided training and lectures for children and students in the area, as well as for staff
responsible for child welfare (Table 3).

Implementation
date

Table 3 Children’s Mental Health Care Community Base Project
Host
Number ofTraining name / content
municipality
participants

2020/7/8

Kesennuma
City“Activities of the Kesennuma
Regional Center”

8

2020/11/2

Kesennuma
City

Health lecture: “Appearances andtruth of worrisome 2nd-year juniorhigh school students”

59

2020/12/8

KesennumaCityDrug abuse prevention class
lecture: “Current status of drug
addiction and crisis avoidance”

522021/2/18

Kesennuma
CityPre-graduation course: “Mentalhealth self-care for nursing staff”

33

Requester
Eastern Children’s
Counseling Center
Kesennuma Branch
staff
Kesennuma
City
Omose Junior HighSchoolMiyagi Prefecture
Kesennuma HighSchool – part-timesystem
KesennumaCity
Hospital School ofNursing[Summary / prospects and issues]

For FY2020, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the postponement or cancellation of various projects. Meanwhile,
activities that could be continued were conducted while taking infection countermeasures. Furthermore, we were able toconduct activities according to the circumstances, such as cooperating with Radio Kesennuma and the City Health
Promotion Division to start new public awareness activities on how to maintain mental health during the COVID-19
pandemic. The pandemic is different from the earthquake and tsunami in that it is invisible to the eye and its end cannot
be seen. However, there are many residents reporting that the situation of restrictions on commuting to work or school
according to emergency broadcasts and the sight of people lining up in the city from early in the morning to buy masks
or disinfectant are “the same as during the earthquake.” Additionally, there were concerns about its effects on people’s
mental and physical health similarly to after the earthquake. Under such circumstances, the fact that we were able todisseminate information through radio broadcasts from an early stage in collaboration with related organizations may
have helped us to utilize our experience to date in support activities.
Furthermore, the first phase of activities of the Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center has come to an end withFY2020. During the second phase, we will implement the three following projects: resident support projects, raisingpublic awareness projects, and support for supporters projects. The Center, which has been active mainly in these projects,
plans to continue its activities as before. Toward the end of FY2025, we wish to proceed while diligently sharing theschedule and activity status with each related organization in the region.

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