How to Support Humanitarian Staff During Prolonged Crisis
In prolonged crisis, the pain is layered.
There’s the pain of the crisis itself: violence, loss, injustice.
Then there's the pain of working inside it, while trying to hold others up.
And finally, there's the pain of feeling forgotten. Of wondering if anyone still sees what your team is carrying.
If you're leading or supporting humanitarian staff right now, especially in places like Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, DRC, Haiti, or Afghanistan…you may be asking:
How do I support my team when the crisis isn’t ending?
How do I hold space for others when I’m hurting too?
What do I say when I can’t promise relief, or resolution?
There are no perfect answers. But there are ways to lead with care, clarity, and courage…even when the road is long.
1. Don’t wait for “after” to care for people now
Protracted emergencies don’t have clean edges. The idea that we’ll care for staff once things settle is seductive, but often harmful.
People need:
Validation of what they’re experiencing now
Support that doesn’t depend on the situation “resolving”
Leadership presence that is calm, human, and consistent
In crisis, waiting to act until the crisis is over means we never act.
2. Normalize emotional reactions - don’t pathologize them
Staff may be:
Dissociating or shutting down
Hyper-alert or irritable
Tearful, numb, or deeply tired
Feeling guilt for surviving or frustration at feeling “helpless”
These are not signs of weakness. They are nervous system responses to sustained threat and loss.
Remind your team (and yourself):
You are not broken for feeling this way
These responses are normal under abnormal conditions
You are not alone
And above all: you don’t have to be “resilient” to be valuable.
3. Create tiny islands of safety
You may not be able to change the crisis, but you can build small structures that support nervous system regulation and collective care.
Here are a few:
Start meetings with a one-word emotional check-in
Invite silence before decisions, to let urgency settle
Offer “micro-practices” like grounding, breath, or movement
Share time boundaries: “This call will be 45 minutes, not 90”
Create space for grief without immediately fixing or framing it
In prolonged trauma, the most radical act can be offering a pause that holds people gently.
4. Be honest, and human
You don’t need to have the perfect words. You just need to be real.
Try:
“I wish I could take this away. I can’t…but I can be with you in it.”
“You matter. What you’re carrying is not invisible.”
“It’s okay to step back when you need to. We’re not built to endure this alone.”
There is dignity in honesty. Your team is more likely to trust you when they sense your presence, not just your plan.
5. Care for the carers, including you
As a leader or staff care focal point, you may be absorbing a lot.
Compassion fatigue is real. So is secondary trauma. And so is the quiet self-judgment of feeling like you’re “not doing enough.”
Please hear this:
You are allowed to rest
You are allowed to feel
You are allowed to say: Not like this anymore
You are not the emergency.
You are a human being, too.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be present.
In a prolonged crisis, people remember who showed up. Who made space. Who told the truth with kindness. Who helped them breathe again.
That’s the work now. Not perfection.
Just presence, care, and repair…again and again.
Holding space with care and solidarity — here’s to staying whole, together,
~ Kate
Thanks for reading The Olive Pages: Fieldnotes on care, clarity, and staying whole
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KRC provides coaching, psychosocial support, and organizational consulting to humanitarian professionals and mission-driven organizations worldwide. Based in lived experience and trauma-aware care, our work helps clients navigate burnout, moral injury, organizational change, and career transitions — while staying human in the process.