​Community Disaster BH Response Plan

NBHP is pleased to announce release of its How to Help in a Shelter: A Quick Orientation for Behavioral Health Professionals video. Created with a generous grant from the Houston Endowment, this training film is intended to provide basic information to individuals who want to volunteer in providing mental health support to persons temporarily living in shelters during natural disasters. The video is based upon experiences of NBHP members who oversaw volunteers at the city’s emergency shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center during Hurricane Harvey. NBHP members are confident this 50 minute orientation video will benefit communities across the country.

The video covers these specific areas:
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● Introduction to Shelter Functioning
● The needs of Disaster Evacuees in a Shelter
● Roles of volunteers in a Shelter
● Relationships of volunteers to Shelter/Medical/Clinical Services team
● Self-Care for Shelter volunteers
● Special Issues – Homelessness, Acute Traumatic Response
 
Co-chairs Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of the Jung Center, and Sue Levin, CEO of HGI Counseling Center, would especially like to thank Mayor Sylvester Turner for providing the introduction for the video. We also want to acknowledge Marc Eichenbaum, Special Assistant to the Mayor on Homeless Initiatives, for his assistance and guidance.