Crisis Counseling Available To Disaster Victims 

Release Date: June 4, 2003
Release Number: 1464-50

» More Information on Tennessee Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

Nashville, TN -- Disaster officials overseeing recovery efforts announced that a grant, submitted by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, and approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will finance a Crisis Counseling Program for residents in counties most severely impacted by May's tornadoes and floods.

These short-term services, provided by FEMA as supplemental funds granted to state and local mental health agencies, are only available to eligible survivors in presidentially declared major disasters.

Funding will provide for individual and group crisis counseling, community education, screening and referral services. The purpose of the crisis counseling program is to help relieve grief reactions, stress, or emotional problems caused or aggravated by the disaster or its aftermath by educating individuals about normal reactions to such an event and how best to deal with them.

"Stress is understandable when people have been frightened by violent weather, thrust into strange new situations and forced to cope with personal losses," said Michael Bolch of FEMA, the official in charge of federal recovery operations.

Interested residents in any of the 65 declared counties should call 1-800-809-9957 and ask that a crisis counselor contact them to discuss their experiences with this disaster.

Those who may require this confidential service can also inquire about it while registering for assistance using FEMA's toll-free number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or through the Helpline option at the same number after registering. The TDD number for persons with speech or hearing impairment is 1-800-462-7585.

Bolch stressed that people often need help to deal with the sudden adversity in their world. "No one who has experienced a disaster is unaffected by it. We try to prevent them from being overwhelmed and work to empower them to regain control of their lives," Bolch said.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 04-Jun-2003 09:25:11