New volunteers sought to help others through traumatic events

By Erin Rose

The Traumatic Intervention Program of Greater Portland (“TIP”) is searching for new volunteers, and Windham resident and current TIP volunteer Richard MacLaughlin can attest to how rewarding it is to help people going through dark times.

Windham resident Richard MacLaughlin
is a volunteer for the Traumatic
Intervention Program of Greater Portland 
which is hosting a training session for
new volunteers at the Westbrook Public
Safety Building from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on
Wednesday, Oct. 14.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

“Every time there is a call, I know I am going to help someone through something difficult,” MacLaughlin said of his year with the organization. “It helps me keep my problems in perspective.”

The group will be hosting a training session for new volunteers at the Westbook Public Safety Building from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The session will be the first of seven required trainings that are scheduled before volunteers are able to start taking calls and helping members of the community.

“The training is five weekday evenings, one full weekend day and two half weekend days,” MacLaughlin said. “It’s excellent training. I felt competent to volunteer on my own after completing the training. The trainers are local and awesome. I am a better person for having attended this training.”

TIP ‘s volunteers are available 24 hours a day to help provide support and resources to people impacted by traumatic events, including fires, accidents or severe injury, suicide, overdose or sexual assault. The group’s team of 25 volunteers serve nine local communities, including Windham, Gorham, Westbrook and Falmouth.

“In the towns we serve, we meet with the first responders and make our services known,” MacLaughlin said. “Anytime one of the first responders, or sometimes a nurse from MaineMed, sees the need for a volunteer because someone is in distress, they contact our dispatch and we go to where they are. You can’t always tell how someone is doing until you get a chance to really check in with them.”

Pam Grant, the Director of TIP, said the organization covers 62 shifts a month.

“We are called in by the 911 system to support the survivors of a tragedy, as well as the first responders,” she said.

The volunteers provide four main areas of support. Emotional first aid helps provide a “calm, caring presence when it matters most,” MacLaughlin said. TIP volunteers also provide clear information, to help the impacted families “understand what’s happening and what comes next,” he continued.

They also provide access to and information about resources that are available to victims and survivors, including cleanup services and community support, MacLaughlin said, adding that the fourth includes helping protect the victims and their families from harm and hurtful comments, even if they are well-meaning.

The support is not limited to just the direct victims of the trauma, but also to those who may be in the background as emergency services personnel work to assist their loved one.

“We prevent what is called a second injury, the feeling of being abandoned by the system that is caring for their loved one,” MacLaughlin said. “A simple example of what I’m describing would be if someone and their spouse were in an automobile accident and one of them was severely injured or died. While the police, EMTs, firefighters and the first responders work on the injured one, the other may be left alone and without support. That’s where we come in.”

Sometimes, it can be difficult for those who provide care to people during traumatic events to separate themselves from the incident, but the group provides opportunities for supporting each other.

“We have monthly required meetings and part of that is speaking about difficult calls, sharing with the group and making sure members get whatever support they need,” MacLaughlin said. “I have a mantra – ‘This is to be with and help, not to carry.’”

A dedicated volunteer, MacLaughlin gives his focus to a single group at a time, having previously been on the Board of Directors for the Windham Youth Soccer Association and a member of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club.

“I saw a story on a morning news program about TIP and thought ‘I could probably do that,’” he said. “Within a week, I began the training.”

MacLaughlin has lived in Windham since 2005 with his wife Sarah and son Josh and works as a local building contractor.

To learn more information about TIPS or to get more details about the upcoming trainings, visit https://www.tipgreaterportland.org/. <