story by: John Cleverley, ShelterBox Rotary Marketing Officer

At ShelterBox our response teams deploy all over the world to support people in need of emergency shelter.

For the families we assist conflict, the climate crises and events like earthquakes mean returning home isn’t an option.

The organisation has a duty of care to the people it supports, and also to our own staff and volunteers. Encouraging a positive work-life balance and supporting well-being across our organisation is crucial. That includes our teams responding to disasters, when pressure can be heightened.

That is why for the last 10 years ShelterBox has been providing psychological support for response team members who have experienced a traumatic event to support their mental health.

We do that using a trauma focused peer support system known as TRiM, which originated in the UK Armed Forces, that is now used more widely and designed to help monitor and support people’s well-being and mental health through structured conversations. In that time, our TRiM team has provided support following road traffic collisions, and earthquake aftershocks.

ShelterBox volunteer, Dave Ray, explained: “I accessed TRiM after experiencing earthquakes and seeing huge levels of damage while working on ShelterBox responses such as Lombok (Indonesia) and Türkiye, deployments to high security situations such as Haiti and Somalia, and crucially in countries such as Malawi and Bangladesh, where the sense that I ‘couldn’t do enough’ to help people had a big impact.

“I have benefited greatly from receiving TRiM, as it helps me understand and articulate feelings I may have, but don’t have the words for. As a practitioner I find it a very powerful tool to help people do the same.” –

When ShelterBox’s teams are deployed to support disaster-affected people, the heavy workload, challenges that come with operating in disaster affected regions, and potential exposure to traumatic events can increase susceptibility to poor mental health. It’s the same across the humanitarian sector.

Often, affected communities will have lived through a harrowing experience. Our response teams, there to support with emergency shelter, are not immune to indirect trauma.

Hearing what communities have been through in conversations with local people and seeing destruction can have an untold impact. Someone’s first time in these types of environments can be quite a shock and, on the other hand, those that have experienced many similar situations can also struggle with the cumulative effects.

On top of that, long working days, sometimes illness, and navigating unfamiliar working environments can make it harder for people to process trauma and recover from it.

Jemima Evans explained: “When I got home from our response to the earthquakes that affected people in Türkiye and Syria, I felt broken. I had never seen devastation to that scale and at times it felt as though, despite all we were doing, it would never be enough.

“Working with a TRiM practitioner really helped me to work through everything that happened and start to process the events that I had experienced.

“It is really important that we look after ourselves and stop ignoring our mental health so we can be better equipped to support communities after disaster.

“TRiM is an excellent tool and one that I will be using again if needed. I now feel more prepared for future deployments. Although I will never forget what happened, it has helped me move forwards.”

While ShelterBox is not able to offer affected communities support with their own wellbeing because of our own capacity and focus on emergency shelter, we are mindful of it.

Teams listen actively, mindful not to retraumatise individuals in conversations they have – including in content gathering. If and where there are serious concerns, we would work with our partners and stakeholders to ensure adequate signposting to relevant services.

Aside from trauma, but with well-being in mind, ShelterBox has a team of Mental Health First Aiders, some who have completed Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training and colleagues who support colleagues with day-to-day stressors, common mental health issues, self-care, and coping strategies.