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We Can Help. 914-345-5900 • help@mhawestchester.org |
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Coping with War, Terrorism and DisasterWith the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th and world events bringing threats of terrorism back to the news, some of us are experiencing increased feelings of anxiety. To assist you and those you care about cope with these situations, we offer direct services, educational material and information about available resources . Read about Coping with the Aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. CREW (Center for Responders and Emergency Workers) provides community-based mental health treatment, outreach, case management and educational services to those residents of Westchester, Putnam and surrounding counties, and their families, who were involved in the rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center following the September 11th attacks. CREW is a collaborative program of MHA of Westchester and Putnam Family Community Services. The Mental Health Initiative (Growing Pressures Affecting Daily Life in Uncertain Times) will provide community education and outreach to schools, PTA’s, community groups, places of worship and childcare agencies throughout Westchester. MHA will also provide free mental health screening and one treatment session for families experiencing growing pressures in their everyday lives. Through this initiative MHA will increase accessibility to services and help families to learn positive coping skills to address stress. Disaster Preparedness and Response will help families of Westchester prepare and respond to a disaster through education and direct services. Families will learn how to develop age appropriate and positive coping skills, as well as a disaster/safety plan. Families will also learn about the mental health impact of a disaster and how to access crisis intervention and/or treatment if needed. If you or an organization you are affiliated with could use these services, please contact Program Director Blanche Goodman, by phone at 914-666-2021, or our Information and Referral Service at 914-345-5900, extension 240 or by e-mail at help@mhawestchester.org. Crisis Intervention and Ongoing Support provides updated information about services available to individuals, families, schools and communities by local agencies, as well as information about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and links to additional resources. Materials developed to help us cope with the anxiety of war and potential terrorism are available on the web site of the National Mental Health Association at http://www.nmha.org/reassurance/anniversary/index.cfm. Our previously posted materials about understanding normal responses to trauma and identifying our own ways of coping remain useful. We offer:
We now provide links to the following materials in Spanish on the National MHA site at
In addition, we offer an activity book for adults to use with their pre-school aged children. "Guiding Our Children Through Troubled Times" was developed to help adults talk with young children about frightening events and worried feelings. Written initially to help children cope with feelings related to the events of September 11, 2001, the book can be used to help children manage worries of all kinds, including the worry of impending war and continuing threats of terrorism. Call our Information and Referral Service at 914-345-5900, extension 240 or contact us by e-mail at help@mhawestchester.org to learn more about picking up a copy at our main office in Elmsford, NY. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides on its web site, http://www.fema.gov, updated information about government services available in response to the terrorist attacks. The web site provides information in English and Spanish and includes information for children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, offers information on Emergency Preparedness and Response on their web site in English at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/index.asp and in Spanish at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/es/index.asp. Additional information related to children and adolescents may be found on the web site of the Search Institute, an independent organization whose mission is to advance the well-being of adolescents and children. The extensive annotated list of web resources is found at http://www.search-institute.org/9-11home/links.html.
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