Natural Disasters: Helping Kids During Crisis
This resource from the American School Counselor Association contains resources for educators and caregivers to support youth in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
The resources below are meant to support those in any community after a fire related event. These resources were compiled after the Marshall and Middle Fork fires impacted communities in Boulder, Louisville and Broomfield. Since then, many wildfires have impacted communities across the world.
These resources, created by CRWS, offers guidance for adults who surround youth to support them in conversation and in structuring their environment when scary things happen in the world. Click the resource below to learn more about talking with children and teens. Each resource is available in English and Spanish below.
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has developed resources to help children, families, and communities navigate what they are seeing and hearing, acknowledge their feelings, and find ways to cope together after a wildfire. Resources include:
Psychological First Aid and Skills for Psychological Recovery
The NCTSN also has resources for responders on Psychological First Aid (PFA; En Español). PFA is an early intervention to support children, adolescents, adults, and families impacted by these types of events. The PFA Wallet Card (En Español) provides a quick reminder of the core actions. PFA Handouts include:
For community and mental health providers who plan to continue working with affected communities long-term, review Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR; En Español) and take the SPR Online course
Resources to Support Firefighters:
The Center for Firefighter Behavioral Health has resources for firefighters, providers supporting them, and their friends and family, including the Helping Heroes web-based training.
Available from the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University and other partners:
Disaster Helpline
SAMHSA has a Disaster Distress Helpline – call or text 1-800-985-5990 (for Spanish, press “2”) to be connected to a trained counselor 24/7/365.
Additional Resources:
For those that are needing technical assistance or additional resources, please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Melissa Brymer from the NCTSN at mbrymer@mednet.ucla.edu or your local NCTSN CRWS Center, Dr. Monica Fitzgerald, at monica.fitzgerald@colorado.edu
This resource from the American School Counselor Association contains resources for educators and caregivers to support youth in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
The Center for Resilience and Well-Being is a resource center within the Prevention Science Program at the Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS).