Activity Report of the Community Support Division, Stem Center
The FY 2021 activities of the Community Support Division at the Stem Center (“Division”) in the areas affected by
the Great East Japan Earthquake were conducted in Natori City, Watari Town, and Yamamoto Town, under thejurisdiction of the Shiogama Health Center, Iwanuma Branch; and Shiogama City, under the jurisdiction of theShiogama Health Center.
Since February 2020, we have been requested by the prefecture to support Marumori Town, which was damaged byTyphoon No. 19 in 2019. This support has continued in FY 2021, and the activity areas were in two cities and threetowns.
We report on the main activities along with the projects.

【Resident support project】
1. Individual support(1) Continued support for high-risk individuals in health surveys and others
The continued support for high-risk individuals in victim health surveys and others has gradually shifted to theregular support by municipalities since FY 2019. This started with case review meetings, followed by joint visits withthe municipal manager, and gradually shifted to support provided only by the municipal manager. In FY 2021, there
were a few cases supported by only the Division, namely, people with suicidal ideation, PTSD, and suspected mentalillness. In some cases, it may take time to shift over to the municipalities (cases of social withdrawal or suicidalideation). In some cases, joint visits will also be necessary in FY 2022.
Additionally, in Marumori Town, by the end of FY 2021, all cases that had been supported by only the Divisionwere handed over to the manager in Marumori Town in the same manner.
2. Local resident exchange project(1) Utsukushima salon
We held the Utsukushima Salon, which was for those who moved from Fukushima Prefecture to the Sennan areaof Miyagi Prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The salon has continued as a forum for exchanging
information about the situation within Fukushima Prefecture and where to move, as well as for interacting with friends
from the same hometown. However, what used to be regularly held once a month shifted to changed venues orinterruptions owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. During implementation as well, attention was given toinfection prevention, and the content lasted about one hour. Separately from the salon, there were also cases ofmembers who wished to have individual opportunities to interact with one another.
Table 1 shows the results of this fiscal year’s activities.

Radio exercises

Snow globe making−22−

Table 1. Local resident exchange project (Utsukushima salon)
Venue

Implementation dateJuly 16, 2021

Iwanuma City

October 15, 2021
November 19, 2021
December 10, 2021
January 21, 2022

Content
Health picture-story show: Stress andblood pressure
Room spray making with aroma oils
Team quiz competition
Snow globe making
New Years’ quiz tournamentParticipants9 people
7 people4 people
13 people
6 people*Held 13:30–14:30, with the last 30 minutes set as free-talk time

【Support for supporters project】
1.

Supporter consultation project
Regular support was provided twice a month to Natori City and Watari Town, and once a month to Yamamoto Town.
Within the jurisdiction of the Shiogama Health Center, we responded to requests from public health centers as needed,
and we sent two dispatches to Shiogama City.
It has been two years since Marumori Town experienced severe typhoon damage, and the necessary support isdifferent from that of the municipalities that were affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Therefore, the support
content was discussed with Marumori Town and Sennan Public Health Center as needed.

(1) Participation in case study meetings and case reviews as advisor① The number of study cases from health surveys has decreased, and the focus has shifted to mental cases andmentally difficult cases of child-rearing generations (Table 2).
Table 2. Number of times of participation in case study meetings
Municipality
Number of times
Yamamoto Town
4Watari Town
10
Natori City
9
Shiogama City
2
② In response to a postvention (*1) request from Natori City, meetings were held at the Mental Health and Welfare
Center and Shiogama Health Center Iwanuma Branch, Natori City, and the Division. The actual intervention
was conducted by Natori City, and the subsequent reflections were conducted by the Mental Health and Welfare
Center and Natori City.
③ In Marumori Town, we conducted a victim health survey, provided support for the subsequent population
approach (*2), and participated in and cooperated with victim support associate meetings. Additionally, weserved the roles of an advisor at a community mutual support center supporter case review meeting and instructor
at a workshop for supporters, and we provided support with an awareness of supporter training and cooperation
between supporters (Table 3).
Table 3. Marumori Town support content and number of times of participation
Support content
Community support center case review meeting
Victim support associate meeting
Dispatch of instructor at workshop for community mutual support center supporters
About Community Health<Instructor in collaboration with town
public health nurse>
Lecture theme
Support for sobriety
What is trauma-informed care?
Support for implementing victim health survey for disaster victims：appointment
Three-way meetings with Sennan Public Health Center and town

Number oftimes
8121113
3*1: Postvention: Suicide prevention is classified into three stages: prevention (pre-treatment), intervention (crisisintervention), and postvention (post-action). Postvention refers to measures intended to minimize thepsychological impact on bereaved people in the unfortunate event of suicide.
*2: Population approach: This refers to reaching out to populations that are not at high risk of health problems so thatthe entire population can reduce risk or prevent disease. Meanwhile, the “high-risk approach”−23−refers to the prevention of disease by working with people who have a higher risk among thepopulation for experiencing health problems.

(2) Joint visits/interviews① In FY 2021, we mainly conducted joint visits with the municipal manager while being aware of the shifting of
the cases to them. Additionally, joint visits were made from the outset for support requests for new cases(Table 4).
Table 4. Number of days of cooperation, such as joint visits
Municipality
Number of days
Natori City8Yamamoto Town
7
Watari Town
2
② We cooperated with postvention support in Iwanuma City at the request of the Mental Health and Welfare
Center (eight individual interviews).
③ Support for high-risk individuals in victim health surveys in Marumori Town involved visits and joint
interviews with the Marumori Town manager from the outset (28 cases). Five cases in apartment-type rental
housing outside the town were handled by the Division.

2. Supporters’ mental health support project
We conducted postvention at Marumori Town (individual interviews with five supporters in container-type
temporary housing).

3. Support for supporters involved in child mental care
We participated as advisors in a study meeting on maternal and child health (Table 5).
Table 5 . Number of times of participation in review meetings on maternal and child healthMunicipality
Natori City
Watari Town
Yamamoto Town

Number of times
13125【Public awareness campaign project】
1. Mental health public awareness promotion project(1) Health lecture① Responses to requests for mental health workshop instructors from municipalities were handled not by directly
dealing with the patients at the Center but by connecting them to public health centers and the Mental Health andWelfare Center while confirming the situation of the patient. We also provided information on instructors in thecommunity who can handle the case when necessary.
② In Marumori Town, we decided on a theme based on issues in the health survey, and we conducted mental healthlectures using picture-story shows at six container-type temporary housing locations. Additionally, we responded
to two requests for lectures from flooded areas, and we shared all the materials for the lectures with the Marumori
Town public health nurse, with subsequent lectures conducted by the Marumori Town public health nurse.
【Summary, future prospects, and issues】
In FY 2021, various projects were postponed or canceled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we conductedactivities in cooperation with municipalities and related organizations while taking sufficient measures. In particular,
public health centers were extremely busy dealing with COVID-19, and there were times when it was difficult to holdregular meetings and jointly support municipalities. Therefore, we conducted activities with an awareness ofstrengthening cooperation with public health centers, such as reporting the details of municipal support as needed.
Additionally, FY 2021 was the year of the start of the Second Operation Plan of the MDMHCC. The pillars of ouractivities have been resident support, support for supporters, and raising public awareness. Regarding municipal support,
in anticipation of the end of the Center’s work, we have been sharing with municipalities and public health centers how
support should be aimed at improving community mental health activities. For example, we have proposed andcooperated in holding case study meetings and case reviews in a way that enables the easy continuation of activities, andas an opportunity to share difficult cases and build a support network. Difficult cases were connected to public healthand mental health welfare centers, and support has been provided so that they could be dealt with and considered through−24−

normal consultation channels. We would like to continue providing support with an awareness of information sharing
and cooperation with public health centers and the MDMHCC.
For Marumori Town, which was damaged by Typhoon No. 19 in 2019, we utilized the knowhow cultivated bysupporting municipalities affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake (tradition) and cooperated with the Sennan Public
Health Center. We supported the town staff to ensure that they can act proactively (town independence). The number of
support groups increased, seen in the establishment of new departments in the event of a disaster. Thus, support wasprovided with an awareness of cooperation with support organizations. The regular support for Marumori Town ended
this fiscal year, but through these activities, there was a sense of the need for organization and handing down of activities
that the Division had been doing to date. We categorized them into “support for health surveys,” “support for alcoholrelated problems,” and “public awareness campaigns. We compiled support activities independently for each Division.
In the event of a disaster, prompt response is an important factor that leads to appropriate support. We want to highlight
this conclusion in future support offered in the event of a disaster.

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