Texas Receives Additional Crisis Counseling Grant
Release Date: March 27, 2006
Release Number: 1606-175
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AUSTIN, Texas -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently awarded $12.1 million to the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) for continuing crisis counseling for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Immediately following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, TDSHS received funds for crisis counseling services. The current grant will provide crisis counseling for Katrina survivors for up to nine more months.
In the aftermath of a disaster, victims may experience stress and anxiety. The crisis counseling program will hire and train people locally to provide counseling to survivors who may be having a normal response to an abnormal situation and trouble psychologically adjusting to the effects of the disaster.
Texas has been hosting hundreds of thousands of evacuees from Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. The State of Texas and FEMA aid these victims by funding free, short-term crisis counseling through grants to the TDSHS.
Individuals in need of assistance may call:
Crisis Counseling Hotline: 1-866-773-4243
Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-784-2433 or 1-800-273-8255
All of the crisis lines operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
When a person calls the crisis counseling hotline, a counselor will talk to the caller or refer the client to a counseling office close to the caller's current residence. Individuals are eligible for crisis counseling services if they were physically in areas directly affected.
Last Modified: Thursday, 25-May-2006 09:34:53