Projects for Alcohol-Related Problems in FY 2018

Projects for Alcohol-Related Problems inFY 2018

Takao Ohira – President
Non-Profit Organization Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai

Introduction
Eight years have passed since that unprecedented earthquake, and the recovery process in Miyagi Prefecture
has largely shifted from reconstructing residential housing towards building post-disaster public housing.
However, the physical, psychological, and social consequences of the disaster continue to grow more severe.
We of the Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai recognize that in a disaster-affected region, the multiple burdensthat survivors have to bear and the lack of certainty about their futures could exacerbate alcohol-related problems. We have therefore worked in collaboration with the Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center (hereafter, “Mental Health Care Center”) and governmental/medical organizations, to undertake various projects
as part of our drive to establish programs that are meant to educate the public about alcohol abuse and to holdregular Danshukai meetings.
1. Outline of activities in each prefectural region(1) Regular Danshukai meetings in the Motoyoshi district of Kesennuma〈These include home visits in container-type temporary housing; meetings to discuss temperance;
regular meetings of the Danshukai〉
After the disaster, in FY 2012, we got involved in raising public awareness about alcohol abuse; thisresulted in the formation of a Danshukai in the Motoyoshi area of Kesennuma City. Thanks to participants’ impassioned discussions and the contributions of different individuals affiliated with the project,in May 2014, we were able to convert our little “Talks about Temperance” meetings into regular
Danshukai meetings—or the “Motoyoshi Regular Meeting”—overseen by the prefectural Danshukai
and held on the third Monday of every month. We continued to hold these meetings once every month
all through FY 2017. We were also given the use of the volunteer room at “Rest,” the Motoyoshi Healthand Welfare Center, by the Motoyoshi General Branch.
The attendees of these meetings included participants who had attended the previous “Talks on Temperance” meetings and their families; local public health nurses; Kesennuma health care workers; center employees; social welfare council members; and Tohokukai Hospital Community Support Divisionstaff.
(2) Ishinomaki alcohol-related issues training workshop
In February 2015, we began this project in collaboration with governmental and medical officials,
as a part of a whole range of post-disaster alcohol-related problem countermeasures enacted by theIshinomaki City, Kahoku Town General Branch Office. We met on the second Thursday of each monthat the Kahoku General Branch Office Health Center, and used the regular Danshukai meeting model,
with the addition of the comparison of guidelines and examples.
Attendees included participants and their families, the Mental Health Care Center, governmentalofficials, staff from the local support organization, and staff from Tohokukai Hospital. They discussed
their feelings and thoughts, and more than 15 people turned up at each meeting. Valuable experienceswere had, including the making of new friends in a new place, and new relationships through deep
mutual support.
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When discussing our directions for FY 2017, we brought up the idea of selecting a location that waseasier for participants and their families to access and realizing future “lunchtime meetings” for theDanshukai. Given the rise in the number of individuals suffering from alcohol-related problems in theIshinomaki area and the impact that the move into disaster public housing may have had on their problems, we changed the venue for our meetings in May 2017 to the “Conference Room” of the Ishinomaki
City Health Counseling Center. Throughout FY 2017, the Ishinomaki City Alcohol-Related Problems
Training Sessions were held on the second Thursday of every month. They continued to be based on
the regular Danshukai meetings model and included sessions comparing various guidelines and examples, as well as honest discussions about each participant’s self.
(3) Natori area regular Danshukai meetings
This project, which began in March 2015, was in response to a growing demand for regularDanshukai meetings in Natori, Iwanuma, and Watari.
Projects for Alcohol-Related Problems in FY 2018
In FY 2015, we met on the second Monday of every month at the Natori City Health Center. In linewith our theme of “Let’s listen to the stories of people who have stopped drinking alcohol,” we began
by first listening to participants’ personal stories. At the time, the project was primarily overseen by
the local government, with the Danshukai participating in a cooperative capacity.
In FY 2016, we held “Meetings for Temperance” (every second Monday) in a similar fashion, withthe local government as the primary organizer and the Danshukai in a collaborative role. After discussing the project’s core purpose as we entered FY 2017, we decided (in April 2017) to adhere to theproject’s original aim since the time of its founding: regular meetings of the Danshukai. Natori City
provided us with a conference room on the second floor of the Natori City Health Center, and we began
holding regular Natori area temperance meetings every month.
In FY 2018, we continued to hold meetings every month. Participants included local people struggling with alcohol-related problems and their family members; employees of the Natori Health Center;
MDHMHCC employees; people with alcohol-related problems from Iwanuma; public health nurses
from the Iwanuma Social Welfare Division, and Tohokukai Hospital Community Support Division
staff.
2．Looking ahead
We of the Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai believe that our activities are insufficient in comparison to theamount of damage inflicted by the disaster. However, we strongly affirm our duty as members of our collaborative groups, to “continue speaking about our experiences and recovering together.”
Looking ahead, we plan to strengthen our relationships with government and medical officials and reinforce the mutual trust between our supporters—who work so tirelessly in difficult conditions, in different
disaster-affected regions—and ourselves. We wish to end this report with an affirmation of the fervent hopethat our efforts may lessen even slightly the plight of those affected by alcohol-related problems.

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