On June 24, 2026, Venezuela was shaken by two strong earthquakes that left a deep mark of pain, uncertainty, and destruction in many communities throughout the country. In a matter of minutes, many families saw their daily lives disrupted: homes damaged or destroyed, loved ones missing or deceased, people injured, forced displacement, fear of aftershocks, and a widespread sense of vulnerability. Beyond material losses, every disaster of this magnitude also opens invisible wounds: anxiety, anguish, insomnia, grief, guilt, panic attacks, acute stress, and a profound loss of the sense of safety.

In response to this reality, the Confraternity of Psychologists of the Vincentian Family has launched the project “Hope That Rebuilds: Virtual Program of Community and Clinical Psychological Care for People Affected by the Earthquake in Venezuela,” a free initiative offering psychological and psychosocial accompaniment to individuals and communities affected by this emergency.

The project is born from the heart of the Vincentian charism: to be close to those who suffer, to recognize the dignity of each person, and to offer a concrete, organized, and hopeful response wherever life has been wounded. In this case, that response comes through the professional field of psychology, integrating scientific rigor, the ethics of care, and the spirituality of service that inspires the Vincentian Family throughout the world.

The initiative will be carried out virtually, through Google Meet, over an initial period of twelve months. It will be led by volunteer psychologists from the Confraternity of Psychologists of the Vincentian Family, located in different countries across the American continent. This international dimension makes it possible to offer a broader professional support network, capable of accompanying people affected both inside and outside Venezuelan territory.

A Response to Wounds That Are Not Always Visible

Earthquakes do not only bring down buildings. They also shake memory, the body, relationships, trust, and hope. Many people who survive a natural disaster may experience persistent fear, jumpiness, difficulty sleeping, a sense of threat, deep sadness, irritability, emotional numbness, or an inability to return to daily life.

In the days and weeks following a disaster, medical care, food, shelter, and safety are urgent needs. But mental health is also an essential part of every humanitarian response. Providing emotional support to affected people helps prevent deeper suffering, strengthens community networks, and promotes more humane and sustainable recovery processes.

From this conviction, the “Hope That Rebuilds” program seeks to offer community and clinical psychological care that helps affected people regain emotional stability, strengthen their resilience, and gradually rebuild their psychosocial well-being.

Project Objectives

The general objective of the program is to provide virtual community and clinical psychological care to people affected by the earthquake in Venezuela, promoting emotional recovery, resilience, and the rebuilding of psychosocial well-being.

To achieve this, the project includes several specific objectives: to offer Psychological First Aid, to carry out emotional crisis containment interventions, to provide individual virtual psychological care, to develop support groups for people in grief, to train community leaders and pastoral agents in self-care and Psychological First Aid, to detect cases that require referral to specialized services, and to strengthen community networks of emotional support.

This is not simply a response to individual situations, but also an effort to help communities rebuild bonds, recover trust, organize themselves, and support one another in the midst of adversity.

Who Is It For?

The program is intended, first of all, for people directly affected by the earthquakes: displaced families, people in grief, older adults, people who have lost their homes or lived through traumatic experiences, as well as affected Venezuelan families currently living outside the country.

It also includes accompaniment for volunteers, pastoral agents, parishes, at-risk communities, and partner organizations. Those who help also need to be cared for. For this reason, the project includes spaces for formation and self-care for those who are supporting others in the midst of the emergency.

Five Areas of Care

The project is organized around five major areas of intervention.

1. The first is community care, which will include psychoeducational talks, stress management workshops, coping strategies, community resilience, prevention of emotional exhaustion, and the strengthening of support networks. Two monthly activities of this kind are planned.
2. The second is individual clinical care, through virtual sessions lasting between 45 and 60 minutes. Each person may receive up to six sessions, with the possibility of extension according to clinical judgment. This care will be especially directed toward those experiencing emotional crisis, anxiety, panic attacks, symptoms of acute stress, grief, insomnia, guilt, or signs that require assessment for possible post-traumatic stress.
3. The third area is crisis containment, carried out in accordance with the guidelines of Psychological First Aid from the World Health Organization, international guidelines on mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies, and complementary humanitarian recommendations. This intervention will include active listening, emotional validation, identification of immediate needs, risk assessment, development of safety plans, and connection with available resources.
4. The fourth component will be grief accompaniment, through virtual groups held twice a month. These spaces will address topics such as understanding grief, traumatic grief, guilt, multiple losses, symbolic ritual, hope, and personal and community rebuilding after loss.
5. Finally, the project includes an important dimension of community training, directed toward community leaders, pastoral agents, volunteers, and members of the Vincentian Family. These formation sessions will address Psychological First Aid, warning signs, suicide prevention, empathetic communication, and self-care.

How the Care Will Work

The methodology will be simple and organized. Requests will be received through the Confraternity’s email address. After that, an initial virtual contact will be made, followed by an initial interview and an assessment of needs. From there, the person will be assigned to a professional appropriate to their situation; follow-up will be provided; and, when necessary, the person will be discharged or referred to specialized services.

The entire process will respect fundamental ethical criteria: informed consent, confidentiality, data protection, respect for the Professional Code of Ethics for Psychologists, and responsible referral in situations of risk.

A Twelve-Month Program

The project will have an initial duration of twelve months, with three main stages.

In the short term, from July to November 2026, the team will be organized, the program will be promoted, registration will open, and individual care, workshops, grief groups, and monthly supervision will begin.

In the medium term, from December 2026 to April 2027, therapeutic processes will continue, monthly workshops will be developed, community training will be promoted, bimonthly evaluations will be carried out, and the well-being of the volunteer professional team will also be cared for.

In the final stage, from May to August 2027, follow-up of processes, closing of accompaniment, a virtual seminar, satisfaction assessment, and a final report will take place.

Psychology, Mission, and Vincentian Hope

“Hope That Rebuilds” expresses a deeply Vincentian conviction: charity requires closeness, organization, competence, and tenderness. In times of emergency, psychological accompaniment is not a luxury or a secondary addition. It is a concrete way of caring for life, protecting human dignity, and helping people recover the strength to keep moving forward.

The Confraternity of Psychologists of the Vincentian Family seeks to place its professional knowledge at the service of those who have been struck by the earthquakes in Venezuela. Its proposal combines clinical care, community work, formation, prevention, and spiritual accompaniment from an integral vision of the human person.

The project hopes to offer free psychological care, reduce emotional distress, strengthen the resilience of affected people, activate support networks, train community leaders, and consolidate an international network of Vincentian psychologists at the service of the mission.

In the midst of rubble, fear, and uncertainty, this initiative seeks to be a concrete sign of presence, consolation, and hope. Because rebuilding does not only mean raising walls. It also means sustaining hearts, accompanying grief, restoring trust, strengthening communities, and reminding every affected person that they are not alone.

The Vincentian Family, faithful to its vocation to serve Christ in the poor and vulnerable, thus joins in the suffering of the Venezuelan people and offers, through its volunteer professionals, a deeply human response: to listen, accompany, care, and help rebuild hope.