Resources and Tips for Coping with Traumatic Events

Community Preparedness e-Brief

 

Resources and Tips for Coping with Traumatic Events

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As the nation mourns the terrible event that took place in Newtown, Connecticut this past Friday, we would like to provide some information that may be helpful in coping with this tragedy. Entities across the nation have come together to offer support and resources; these include the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Save the Children and the American Academy of Pediatrics who are providing the following tips, recommendations and resources.

Hotline:

SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 via telephone (1-800-985-5990) and SMS (text ‘TalkWithUs’ to 66746) to residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or man-made disasters.

Resources to Help Parents, Children and Teachers Cope with a Traumatic Event:

The U.S. Department of Education offers the following resources:

Helping Youth and Children Recover from Traumatic Events includes tips and toolkits for teachers and staff to assist children and youth in the recovery processes after a crisis, including coping with the emotional impact of traumatic events.

Psychological First Aid (PFA) for Students and Teachers: Listen, Protect, Connect—Model & Teach includes early, brief and focused intervention information that can be used in the aftermath of a crisis to help reduce social and emotional distress of children and adults after a traumatic event.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services may offer support through these resources:

SAMHSA Coping with Violence and Traumatic Events Website offers an array of resources for students, parents, teachers, caregivers, as well as tips for coping with grief and mass violence and information for first responders and health professionals.

SAMHSA Tips for Talking With and Helping Children and Youth Cope After a Disaster or Traumatic Event (SAMHSA) helps parents and teachers recognize common reactions children of different age groups (preschool and early childhood to adolescence) might experience after a disaster or traumatic event and offers tips for how to respond in a helpful way and when to seek support.

Below are a few more resources from additional organizations on coping with traumatic events:

American Academy of Pediatrics Healthy Children.Org offers resources and tips to help parents, teachers, children and others cope in the aftermath of school shootings. Resources are broken down specifically for parents/teachers, for students, and for schools.

Save the Children Ten Tips to Help Children Cope  is a list of ten recommendations from Save the Children for parents, teachers, grandparents and caregivers on how to help children cope with a crisis.

Developing and Updating Emergency Management Plans for Schools:

The U.S. Department of Education’s Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center also offers resources for developing and updated an emergency management plan through its. “Steps for Developing a School Emergency Management Plan” and “Components of Comprehensive School and School District Emergency Management” Plans. These two newsletters help provide a thorough overview on the components recommended for the creation of a comprehensive school and district emergency management plan, as well as recommended steps for developing a school emergency management plan.