Resources in Response to the California Wildfires:
In response to the California wildfires, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network has developed resources to help children, families, and communities navigate what they are seeing and hearing, acknowledge their feelings, and find ways to cope together. Resources include:
· Parent Guidelines for Helping Children Impacted by Wildfires (En Español)
· Wildfires: Tips for Parents on Media Coverage (En Español)
· Simple Activities for Children and Adolescents
· Trinka and Sam: The Big Fire - e-book for young children. (En Español)
· Helping Youth After a Community Trauma: Tips for Educators (En Español)
· Talking to Children: When Scary Things Happen (En Español)
Psychological First Aid and Skills for Psychological Recovery
The NCTSN also has resources for responders on Psychological First Aid (PFA; En Español). PFA is an early intervention to support children, adolescents, adults, and families impacted by these types of events. The PFA Wallet Card (En Español) provides a quick reminder of the core actions. The PFA online training (En Español) course is also available on the NCTSN Learning Center. PFA Handouts include:
· Parent Tips for Helping Infants and Toddlers (En Español)
· Parent Tips for Helping Preschoolers (En Español)
· Parent Tips for Helping School-Age Children (En Español)
· Parent Tips for Helping Adolescents (En Español)
· Tips for Adults (En Español)
For community and mental health providers who plan to continue working with affected communities long-term, review Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR; En Español) and take the SPR Online course.
Mobile Apps:
· SAMHSA Behavioral Health Disaster Response App
Available from the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University and other partners:
Resources for After the Wildfire:
Disaster Helpline
SAMHSA has a Disaster Distress Helpline – call or text 1-800-985-5990 (for Spanish, press “2”) to be connected to a trained counselor 24/7/365.
Listen Protect Connect Psychological First Aid for Children and Families(Self use guide):