As you know, the recent floods in Louisiana have affected many lives including some of our members. Approximately 10,000 people are in shelters, 24,000 households have been affected, and at least 11 people have died as a result of this disaster.
APA’s Disaster Resource Network (DRN) is actively engaged in efforts to disseminate resources to Louisiana and recruit psychologists in the DRN for response efforts. DRN staff are in contact with our long-time partner the American Red Cross which is currently deploying volunteers to Louisiana.
Psychologists who are licensed and have disaster mental health training but are not in the DRN can also volunteer through Red Cross. They will need to follow the instructions in the attached Red Cross flyer.
The following APA resources are available on the Psychology Help Center.
Recovering emotionally from disaster, http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx.
Manage flood-related distress by building resilience, http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/flood-distress.aspx.
What psychologists do on disaster relief operations, http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/disaster-site.aspx.
The American Red Cross has put out an urgent request for licensed MH practitioners to support 10K people in shelters and is waiving their requirements for their training that is typically required—instead doing the training on-site. If you have availability or know of others who can make a 9-day commitment, which includes 2 travel days—please see the following link:
Check out our Disaster Response webpage for more resources.
Tags: Disaster Response, Practice, Service
Posted on: August 22nd, 2016