You are NOT alone

[00:00:00] Amber: Hi, I’m Amber Ham, the transition age parent educator with Kentucky SPIN. I wanted to make a brief video in hopes that I would find you well.

[00:00:13] In 2012, my family and I also went through a tornado, with complete devastation and loss. We lived in Piner Kentucky, and on March 2nd, 2012 we lost every worldly belonging that we owned. Two days later, we found out we were expecting our second child.

[00:00:41] We went through all of the stages of grief. Frustration, sadness, anger, and at times being happy. And it’s okay. You have to feel to heal.

[00:01:02] I share my story with you because I know the journey that you are currently walking on and it feels hopeless and helpless.

[00:01:11] But what I do want to tell you is you will be okay.

[00:01:15] And on the days that you’re not okay, that’s okay.

[00:01:20] It’s okay to reach out for help. It’s okay to admit that you need more resources and support.

[00:01:33] Don’t ever feel bad that you may need to speak with someone because of your emotional or mental state. There are people here in Kentucky and surrounding states that are willing to help you and support you.

[00:01:54] What I want to convey, is that you’re not alone. We at Kentucky SPIN are here, readily available to answer your calls or your emails and help link you with the supports and resources you need.

[00:02:14] So number one would be asking for help.

[00:02:19] Number two set boundaries. When you’re there, where your home used to stand and you’re digging through rubble and you’re trying your very best to salvage any little memory or object that you can, it’s okay to tell people if you’re not going to help, please leave.

[00:02:45] Please don’t take pictures of my family and the state. Please respect that we are humans. We have feelings and this is our real life.

[00:03:01] So number one, ask for help. Number two, set boundaries.

[00:03:07] And number three, feel your emotions. Be sad, be angry, be frustrated. But make sure you feel. In order to heal, you have to feel.

[00:03:32] Know that you have tons of support and you will not be forgotten. Although at times you’re going to feel like you’re forgotten, there are people here that are willing to support you along this journey. It takes just a matter of moments to pick up a phone or to write an email or to send a text.

[00:04:02] We’re approaching the ten-year anniversary of our tornado and we have rebuilt and my children are older and we have gotten through a lot of the hard parts of our journey. But knowing you will continue on this journey, it’s okay to feel upset when the wind blows. It’s okay to be skittish of the next storm that rolls around. But don’t let that consume your life.

[00:04:40] We can all fall into that rabbit hole of worry and being scared. And when are we going to lose everything again? I know it as a parent, one of the hardest things was for my four year old to look at me every time it stormed and ask if we were going to die.

[00:05:01] It’s okay to not be okay. But it’s not okay to let this devastation consume you.