Free Crisis Counseling Available For Disaster Victims 

Release Date: September 20, 2005
Release Number: 1603-024

» More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Katrina

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Individuals and families who need help recovering from the trauma of Hurricane Katrina can get free counseling by calling any one of the following toll-free, helpline numbers:

The local Baton Rouge crisis line number is (225) 924-3900.

All of the crisis lines operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

When a person calls one of the helplines, a crisis counseling representative will provide the needed assistance. Individuals are eligible for crisis counseling services if they were in the disaster area at the time of Hurricane Katrina.

The crisis counseling program is funded by FEMA and administered by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Mental Health. Currently the program has received a grant of $1 million to provide services.

FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003

Last Modified: Tuesday, 20-Sep-2005 10:12:16