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Asuto Nagamachi November 18, 2011
Insulating foam, double-pane windows and a windproof rooms are now installed?
Hiroko Takagi, Planner of the Personal Support Center
Yes. Also, ditch digging is underway.
It's been noisy these days.
Why is this additional work necessary?
Well, it was extremely hot this summer. Because there was just a single steel wall panel blocking the temporary houses from the sunshine.
Even with air conditioners, people couldn't beat the heat.
There are many elderly people living in the temporary houses. They had seldom used air conditioners.
They complained, saying they didn't want to stay at home with all the windows closed.
We have always kept this community room cool, inviting people to come here anytime.
This is how things started.
As it's getting cold, people wondered how cold it would be inside the house in winter, given the heat this summer.
A request for heat insulation work was made by people living in the temporary houses.
Initially, it took time to get approval.
But the project moved forward all at once. I'm very happy about it.
As the temporary housing is made of a single steel wall panel, the noise coming from construction such as drilling is awful.
If we hold various events in the community room and people join them...
...we can alleviate the noise problem at home. To this end, we are holding many events here.
How many people are living in the temporary houses of Asuto Nagamachi and where did they come from mainly?
About 410 people, 233 households.
Many came from Wakabayashi-ku, mainly Arai which was devastated by the tsunami.
There are some from this neighborhood, Koriyama and Nagamachi.
They suffered damage in the quake, not the tsunami.
And some came from Minamisoma, having been affected by the nuclear power plant accident.
And there are some from Iwanuma and Watari.
The majority of them are from Arahama and other affected coastal areas?
Yes. People were required to apply for temporary houses as a group. That was an obstacle.
After the 1st and 2nd application period, these temporary houses were finally filled up in the 3rd application period.
People from various areas applied in the 3rd application period.
In past earthquakes in Hanshin and Niigata, some people died alone in temporary houses.
Learning from this, Sendai City set a condition to make a group of 10 people to live in the temporary houses. But it became a hindrance.
10 households moved in in the first application period. Can they go along with neighbors?
Well, one person at the evacuation center who had a pet was proactive in gathering other people to move into the temporary houses.
As pets were not allowed in evacuation centers, he really wanted to move into a temporary house.
He asked 10 households to move in together.
So there are many people who came from the same evacuation center.
Besides those 10 households, several people made a group in order to move in.
There were many people coming from the same evacuation center in groups initially.
Do those people need relatively less support in order to communicate with other groups?
Not really. Our support staff are determined to provide those people with emotional support as much as possible.
There are different cases with different people.
Could you tell us what the support staff do every day?
The office of the Personal Support Center is located in Futsukamachi, just behind the City Hall.
We are at the office at 9 o'clock where we have a meeting.
The support staff go to their assigned place in Taihaku-ku, Miyagino-ku and Aoba-ku by car.
When we arrive, we have another briefing. Afterwards, we split into pairs of one man and one woman.
We have as many as 233 households here, so we divide them into groups like Group A, Group B based on our own standard.
The pairs visit their assigned block every morning and say hello to people and check their condition.
That's what we are doing every day.
People think they have to leave the temporary house in two years.
It was initially hard for us to know what they're planning for the future.
And the support staff were not allowed to ask invasive questions about their personal matters.
As we built a relationship of trust with them, such annoyance has abated.
In the beginning, when we visited them, they opened their door only slightly.
Now they welcome us for a cup of tea when we visit them.
Over a cup of tea, we have a chance to listen to their stories about when the quake hit.
People who didn't talk to us at all in the beginning start telling us their stories.
Meanwhile, we have slowly started asking about their plans after two years.
When people receive donation or aid, they are not qualified to get welfare benefits.
We really want to help them live a better life as soon as possible.
Lest they should be adversely affected by regulations, we ask pointed questions about their future.
You provide mental care first, then shift to support for their daily life?
That's right. We are shifting to giving livelihood support to them now.
Well, many people used to live in big houses. But after tsunami, they were forced to live in an evacuation center.
Then they moved into temporary housing. The elderly have less chance to move their bodies.
As I discussed with the general manager a moment ago, such circumstances make even elderly people reclusive.
How can we encourage such reclusive people to participate in events?
We are involved in this job to make their life better.
Your support staff bring you various opinions, complaints and sometimes petitions raised among residents.
How do you deal with them as a Life Planner?
Well, when they have something to ask us, they come here and I listen to them.
If it's a request for relief supply like when certain goods are in short supply, I will arrange it.
Some volunteers work very hard. They bring what we want to us, although it takes several days.
A recent example is we got three bicycles from the Wakabayashi ward office.
A mother rides a bicycle with her kid in the front basket for shopping.
One of the support staff saw her and asked me for help so I called a volunteer's office for help.
Then they called volunteer members, but they couldn 't find a bicycle with a child seat.
They called me back to tell me. Then they called me soon after and said they would buy a child seat.
This conversation took place in the morning and we received it in the afternoon on the same day.
Like this, we are supported by others so much.
As for physical problems, we consult the general manager about such matters.
He explains to people what services they can use, if any.
And health nurses of the Wakabayashi ward office visit them.
Our support staff are not certified nurses. But when they find something unusual, they report it me.
Then I call and ask those nurses to drop by and see any people who are sick.
- I'm serving as a liaison. - I see.
The Personal Support Center has been engaged in providing relief supplies, a soup-run and giving support for furnishing in the temporary housing.
Through your continuous support, can you see any improvements in the temporary housing over the past eight months?
Or are there still problems to be resolved? What's the current situation?
Right after the quake they needed, of course, mental care. Above all, there was a severe shortage of goods.
As their houses in Arahama were washed away by the tsunami, they lost everything.
We delivered relief supplies to those people first when we received some.
A number of futons and blankets are sent to us at once. That's another problem.
Daily necessities were lacking so we also procured such goods.
The initial stage of our support basically involved supplying goods.
At present, they have supplies to some extent.
As they live in a small house, they have enough things.
And food supplies like rice and miso have been delivered here faster than any other places, thanks to the support received from across the nation.
They have enough food in this regard.
They've just received winter clothes.
So I'm concerned what comes next.
Once everything goes well, people tend to look for something different and turn their attention toward it.
What is the current situation? Well, how can I describe it?
There are some people who act on their own desire. The challenge for us is how to respond to such people.
It's a difficult problem.
Yes. Difficult problems are popping up one after another.
When we can't solve a problem through our support, we ask the police and the general manager to deal with it.
Such cases are increasing in number recently.
We have seen the number of people dependent on alcohol is rising.
Some are getting better and others worse.
Disaffected people sometimes turn their frustration toward others or our support staff.
Such cases have recently emerged.
Police patrol this neighborhood and keep an eye on it. We had a meeting with the police yesterday morning.
That's what we've been doing these days.