Reducing Risks: Developing Psychosocial Capacity of Responders: Phase II Third Quarterly Report (FY 2016 Q2): January 1-March 31, 2016

The program is supported by USAID and focuses on developing a robust psychosocial response to disasters. The program's Phase II began in 2016, following the signing of an agreement between JDC and UI in December 2015. The partnership has enabled the program to fully commence its activities, including the revision of the curriculum and the implementation of Immersion Course (IC) trainings. A key milestone in the program was the Curriculum Revision Workshop, held on March 3-4, 2016, at the Santika Hotel in Depok. The workshop brought together 20 participants from various professional backgrounds, including practitioners, academicians, policy makers, social workers, and psychologists. The workshop aimed to refine the curriculum, reduce the required training time by 20%, and identify effective systems for implementing Ongoing Enrichment (OE) and retention of volunteers. The revised curriculum includes a revised syllabus, a pocket book with reading materials, a training manual, and assorted IC materials such as brochures, flyers, posters, and flipcharts. The IC trainings are scheduled to begin in May 2016 in four villages in Bogor, with the goal of introducing community disaster preparedness and the role of community volunteers in managing daily activities in camps/shelters. The program has also conducted an initial survey in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, to understand psychosocial changes due to eviction amongst people in the area and to identify possible needs for relevant interventions. Other potential program locations that will be surveyed include the Karo District, North Sumatra, in the area of the Sinabung volcano eruption. To ensure maximum impact of the trainings, JDC and UI have been working on the development of a robust baseline survey, which will monitor the implementation process and assess the effectiveness of the program in building psychosocial capacity and fostering resilience to reduce disaster risks in communities. The baseline survey will include a cross-sectional survey, interviews, and focus group discussions amongst stakeholders to collect additional information about awareness, knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors related to the disaster risk reduction program in their communities. JDC and UI have also prioritized advocating for the inclusion of the psychosocial response in disaster risk reduction (DRR) on the national level. The program has built a collaborative relationship with the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), which has been mandated to oversee psychosocial support programs in the country. A Psychosocial Support Coordination Meeting was co-hosted by UI's Crisis Center and MoSA on January 21, 2016, with the goal of producing a 4W mapping of all psychosocial support programs and beginning initial discussions on potential collaboration. The program has also participated in other recent opportunities to improve coordination and advocate for psychosocial DRR, including a learning forum on Psychosocial Support in Disaster Situations hosted by the International Federation of Social Workers- Asia Pacific (IFSW-AP) in January 2016.