Plum School District partners with therapists to serve those impacted by explosion tragedy
Aug. 18—A few days ago, Erica Kuhn and Melissa Gionta-Oliver were strangers.
Now the two therapists from Plum are spearheading efforts to provide an online database of mental health resources for the Plum Borough School District and community after the tragic house explosion Saturday in the borough's Rustic Ridge neighborhood.
The explosion at 141 Rustic Ridge Drive late Saturday morning killed six people, including Plum student Keegan Clontz, 12, who would have been starting junior high school next week. He was advancing from Pivik Elementary School.
"As soon as the tragedy occurred, we connected through social media to come up with a plan of how we can help," Gionta-Oliver said.
"The school is on the front line with this. But we are here to make sure anyone experiencing trauma can get the help they need."
On Wednesday, they fielded about a dozen mental health referrals from the school district.
The outreach effort extends beyond the neighborhood and borough to anyone in need of counseling services connected to the Rustic Ridge tragedy.
"The day of the explosion people were experiencing trauma, and that same night after hearing the explosion there were thunderstorms — the brain is a unique instrument — and there are factors that can trigger trauma," Gionta-Oliver said.
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The counseling services are free.
"Immediate acute needs have been addressed — things like food, shelter, finances, health and safety," Kuhn said. "The grief, fear and overall distress after such a tragedy can, and will, impact our community for a long time."
Both counselors noted many folks in need of therapy services have to wait weeks, or months, for initial appointments.
"I wanted to reach out to other local providers that can confirm eligibility and mitigate the daunting task of weeding through therapists," Kuhn said.
They're collaborating with district officials to prioritize the back-to-school transition for students, staff and faculty when school resumes Wednesday.
In a recent email to district families from the Plum Student Services Team, staff members stated their primary focus is to provide a safe and supportive environment for children as they navigate their way back to their school routines.
"We have a lot of teachers wanting therapy — the trauma is affecting the first responders, teachers, children and entire families," Gionta-Oliver said.
District staff created a "We Are Here to Support You" initiative to help make the return to school as easy as possible given Saturday's traumatic events.
The district's Crisis Intervention Team comprises school counselors, psychologists and social workers in collaboration with Devereux Turtle Creek Valley Community Services.
"It's our collective responsibility to ensure the emotional well-being of our students and families as we navigate this unimaginable tragedy," wrote Superintendent Rick A. Walsh in a statement released Sunday.
Plum District serves about 3,600 students and employs more than 450 faculty and staff.
Schools include Pivik Elementary, O'Block Elementary, Holiday Park Intermediate, Plum Middle School and Plum Senior High School.
The district initially offered counseling support services Monday and Tuesday at Plum High School.
Assistant Superintendent Denise Sedlacek confirmed Wednesday additional free counseling services are available for students, staff, families, first responders and community members from the volunteer counselors.
"This is an invaluable service to our families and community members. There's often a three- to six-month wait list to receive mental health therapy and support," Sedlacek said. "The local therapists pulling this together to provide these services speaks volumes about their commitment to meet the needs of our families, students and, more importantly, the first responders who in coming days, weeks and months may experience post-traumatic stress."
Participating counselors are listed at bloomingexpressionstherapy.com in the "Rustic Ridge/Plum, PA Resources" link at the top of the website's homepage.
Counselor appointments are offered in person or virtually, varying by providers.
Practice locations include offices in Plum, Murrysville, Squirrel Hill, Leechburg, Oakmont, Munhall and the South Hills.
"Grief, loss and trauma affects everyone differently," Gionta-Oliver said. "Even if you or your family are not directly impacted by this tragedy, it's normal to be experiencing anxiety, fear, grief and overall distress. Do not hesitate to reach out to loved ones and/or a mental health provider."
Therapist Amy Halter of Balance of Grow Counseling Center in Leechburg is trained in trauma crisis through the Red Cross.
"Someone reached out to me and I jumped at the opportunity to help provide therapy because first-responders have a lot of delayed trauma. The sooner they can have someone to talk to the better it is for their mental health," Halter said.
Halter recently had a phone therapy consultation with a first responder from the explosion and they scheduled an in-person appointment.
"It's really up to the individual on what they want. Some want to talk one time and others may want to get ongoing counseling," Halter said. "Therapy is individualized."
Halter emphasized the importance of de-stigmatizing mental health.
"I think it's better now because mental health has been pushed to the forefront because of covid. But you don't have to have the tragedy happen to you to be affected. You can be impacted just because you're a part of the community," Halter said.
The services will continue for the next several months, and there's no timeline on the outreach, Gionta-Oliver said.
"We want to stress the importance of utilizing self-care, checking in on loved ones and those around us in the community and to continue to support one another as we rebuild," she said.
Sedlacek said the biggest needs have been supporting the borough and their work to help the families and community members impacted by the tragedy.
"As a district, we are preparing for the opening of the 2023-24 school year. We will have targeted support for those students and families needing additional services, especially those students and families who have been displaced by the Rustic Ridge Home explosion," she said.
Additional resources are available online on the district's special education/student services website.
Joyce Hanz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joyce by email at jhanz@triblive.com or via Twitter .
