- Tips for Survivors of a Disaster or Other Traumatic Event: Managing Stress –This SAMHSA tip sheet gives stress prevention and management tips for dealing with the effects of a disaster or trauma. It identifies common reactions to disasters and other traumatic events, lists tips to manage and lower stress, and highlights signs of the need for professional support.
- Be Red Cross Ready: Taking Care of Your Emotional Health after a Disaster – This fact sheet from the American Red Cross lists common reactions to a disaster, identifies ways for survivors to cope effectively, and highlights signs of the need for additional mental health support.
English | English – Large Print | Arabic | Chinese | French | Haitian Creole | Korean | Spanish | Tagalog | Vietnamese
- Mass Disasters, Trauma, and Loss – This booklet from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies discusses common reactions to disasters, factors that make people more likely to experience reactions for longer periods, and steps survivors can take to cope effectively after a disaster. Signs of the need for professional mental health assistance are also provided.
- Disaster-specific Resources: Hurricanes – Part of the SAMHSA Disaster Behavioral Health Information Series (DBHIS) resource collection focuses on hurricane preparedness and response. The collection includes resources for researchers, public health professionals, mental health professionals, employers, people with lived experience of trauma, and the general public.
- Hurricanes and Tropical Storms – The SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline provides information on hurricanes and tropical storms, including severe weather that may be associated with this type of disaster, signs of distress, and factors that place people at higher risk of hurricane-related distress. Also presented are sources of additional information and support.
- Safety Guidelines: After a Hurricane or Other Tropical Storm – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tips and links to information about staying safe after a hurricane. Topics covered include avoiding hazards such as floodwater and fallen power lines, safe cleanup, and taking care of your emotional health.
- Children and Adolescents – Two sections of the SAMHSA DBHIS resource collection focused on the common responses and needs children and adolescents may have during and after disasters. These sections include resources that highlight the unique needs of children and adolescents in and after disasters, as well as how adults who work with children, and parents and other caregivers, can offer support to children and adolescents in coping. Following are SAMHSA DBHIS sections related to children and adolescents:
1. Resources intended for children and youth
2. Resources about children and youth and disasters - Age-related Reactions to a Traumatic Event – In this fact sheet, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) provides an overview of how children and adolescents may react to a traumatic event, including a natural or human-caused disaster that they experience as traumatic. This resource describes reactions typical within specific age ranges and offers tips for families, doctors, and school personnel to help children and adolescents cope.
English | American Sign Language | Dari | German | Japanese | Pashto | Russian | Ukrainian
Hurricane Resources – NCTSN describes hurricanes and how they often affect children and families. Information and resources are also provided to help children and teens through response and recovery after hurricanes.
- Helping Youth after Community Trauma: Tips for Educators—In this 1-page tip sheet, NCTSN identifies 10 ways youth may react to community traumas such as natural or human-caused disasters and suggests ways for educators to respond to these reactions and support youth in coping. The tip sheet also advises educators to find professional mental health support for youth—and for themselves—as needed.
- Helping Older Adults After Disasters: A Guide to Providing Support – Information for anyone supporting older adults after a disaster, this SAMHSA guide highlights reactions to disasters that are common among survivors of all ages, as well as unique challenges older adults may face after disasters and how response workers can help. The guide also identifies resources available to help in connecting older adults with services and supports.
- Eldercare Locator – A service of the Administration on Aging, part of the U.S. Administration for Community Living, which features an online database users can search by ZIP code and city and state to find local services for older adults, which may be particularly useful following a disaster. The service can also be reached by toll-free phone at 1.800.677.1116. The Eldercare Locator website includes links to consumer publications and websites of organizations that serve older adults.
- Helping Families Deal with the Stress of Relocation After a Disaster – In this handout, the CDC provides a wealth of information about stress, why relocation after a disaster may be stressful, common signs of stress, and ways that parents and other caregivers can support children and adolescents in coping. Tips are also provided for helping older adults with coping, as are links to related resources.
- People With Disabilities and Other Functional and Access Needs -This part of the SAMHSA DBHIS resource collection covers various aspects of preparedness, response, and recovery for people with disabilities and other functional and access needs. The collection includes articles, guides, and organizations.
- Hidden Disabilities: Communication Tips for First Responder – This 8-minute training video recommends ways for first responders to communicate effectively with people with autism spectrum disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injury. Although the video addresses communicating in non-disaster situations, it presents principles of effective communication that may be helpful in disasters. The video was developed by the Anchorage Police Department, Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, and the University of Alaska Anchorage, as well as other agencies and organizations in Alaska.
- Tips for First Responders, 5th Edition – This guide from the Center for Development and Disability at the University of New Mexico offers tips responders can use during emergencies and routine encounters to support and communicate with people with disabilities and other access and functional needs. Sections of the guide focus on older adults and on people with service animals, mobility impairments, autism, multiple chemical sensitivities, cognitive disabilities, and hearing or visual impairments.
English | Spanish - Tips for Providing Services for Individuals Living with Functional and Access Needs – In this brochure, the Alabama Disability and Health Program provides tips for people serving disaster survivors with disabilities and other access and functional needs. Sections focus on assisting people with physical disabilities, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people who have speech disabilities, people who are blind or who have low vision, and other populations.
- Disasters & Religions app – Provided by the University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture, New York Disaster Interfaith Services, and National Disaster Interfaiths Network (NDIN), this mobile app offers information and resources to help responders and voluntary organizations serve disaster-affected religious communities more effectively and build partnerships with religious leaders. The app contains information about 27 different religions and links to PDF resources that are easy to share.
Apple | Android - Faith Communities & Disaster Mental Health—This NDIN tip sheet provides information for religious leaders about common stress reactions people may have after a disaster and suggests ways faith leaders and others can cope effectively with disaster stress reactions, as well as helping others with coping. The sheet also provides information on referring people for mental health services.
English | Spanish - Vulnerable Populations & Disaster—This NDIN tip sheet discusses how religious leaders can help meet the needs of vulnerable populations, including individuals with physical and cognitive differences and disabilities, during disaster preparedness and response. The tip sheet identifies several vulnerable populations and suggests practices to offer support to individuals within these populations during preparedness and response.
English | Spanish
- Rural Disaster Behavioral Health: A Guide for Outreach Workers and Crisis Counselors – Developed for crisis counselors, outreach workers, and others serving rural communities that have experienced disaster, this SAMHSA DTAC guide describes unique aspects of rural communities, explains how disasters may affect the behavioral health of rural populations, and suggests ways to help rural communities. The guide features resources and a tip sheet that can be customized for specific disaster response and recovery programs.
- Rural Population-specific Resources – This part of the SAMHSA DBHIS collection features resources on responding to and coping with disasters affecting rural communities. Resources include materials on rural mental health, stress management, and barriers in rural access.
- The Rural Mental Health Crisis – Developed by Mental Health America and Rural Minds, this fact sheet highlights the unique challenges individuals living in rural areas face with their mental health. The fact sheet emphasizes the importance of open conversations about mental health and providing mental health support to combat stigma. Resources for accessing information, seeking care, and contacting crisis helplines are also included in this fact sheet.
- First Responders and Disaster Responders Resource Portal – This part of the SAMHSA DTAC website notes the stressors that may be involved in work as a responder, identifies signs of stress, and offers coping tips. The page features links to tip sheets, online trainings, and other resources related to responder mental health and freedom from substance use issues and conditions.
- SAMHSA Behavioral Health Disaster Response App – The SAMHSA Disaster App is a free tool for first responders and disaster response and recovery workers. It provides geographically specific information about mental health and substance use services to support individual and community referrals (through FindTreatment.gov). The tool also provides resources for first responders and disaster response and recovery workers to support their pre-deployment preparation, on-the-ground assistance, and post-deployment demobilization. Available for download on Apple and Android devices.
- Responder Safety and Health – In this topical resource collection, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) provides a wealth of items for health care, public health, and emergency management professionals pertaining to safety, including mental health-related safety for responders. Part of the ASPR Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange resource, the collection features three sections about responder behavioral health and resilience.
- Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online—NCTSN offers this online course to train new disaster responders in PFA, as well as to provide a refresher training for responders who want to review this approach to disaster response. The course describes the core actions of PFA and how they can be applied after a disaster, as well as discussing provider well-being. Both courses are available free of charge; however, to complete a course, you must create an account at https://learn.nctsn.org/login/signup.php.
English | Spanish
- SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline – The SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) provides free, confidential crisis counseling and support to people in distress due to natural and human-caused disasters. The DDH is available 24/7, on all days of the year, via talk or text. The line also offers support in Spanish (people who call or text should press 2 for this option) and more than 100 additional languages. People who are deaf or hard of hearing or who have other speech or hearing disabilities can use the texting option or, if they would like support in American Sign Language (ASL), they can call the DDH’s toll-free number via videophone-enabled device or click the “ASL Now” link at the DDH website. Other DDH information is available in 30 commonly spoken languages.
Call: 1.800.985.5990 | Text: 1.800.985.5990
Website: English | Spanish - 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline—The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a source of support available 24/7 to people in crisis, including people experiencing challenging reactions to disasters. Call 988 for support in English, ASL, or Spanish.
Call: 9-8-8 | Text: 9-8-8 | Chat: English | ASL | Spanish
Website: English | Spanish