Updated information on free crisis counseling for tornado survivors
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Free crisis counseling is available for Kentucky tornado survivors.
FEMA approved funding for the crisis counseling for nine months through Jan. 15, 2023.
Free crisis counseling services can help survivors of the December tornadoes cope with trauma, stated a social media post by Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
“A tornado disaster can shock the emotions of the people who lived through it,” stated WCSO. “Survivors frequently report feelings of anger, depression, sadness, stress or anxiety for months after the event.”
Counseling is available to residents of Warren County, as well as residents of Barren, Caldwell, Christian, Fulton, Graves, Hart, Hickman, Hopkins, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Ohio and Taylor counties.
Those seeking the free service should contact the Commonwealth’s 211 line. The number dialed from any location in Kentucky connects residents to health and human services agencies that can give help to individuals and households recovering from the tornadoes.
The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Families operates the program through four community behavioral health centers:
- Life Skills (serving Barren, Hart, Logan and Warren counties) at lifeskills.com/crisis
- Pennyroyal Center (serving Caldwell, Christian, Hopkins, Lyon and Muhlenberg counties) at pennyroyalcenter.org/services/behavioral_health/
- Four Rivers Behavioral Health (serving Fulton, Graves, Hickman and Marshall counties) at 4rbh.org/
- River Valley Behavioral Health (serving Ohio County) at rvbh.com/crisis-line/
Counselors meet with adults and children affected by the disaster in non-office settings such as shelters, homes and community buildings to provide anonymous services with no records or case files. Counselors usually live in the disaster area and are sometimes survivors themselves.
The Crisis Counseling program is administered through a partnership between FEMA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services. SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline, 800-985-5990, offers 24/7, everyday crisis counseling and support to people feeling emotional distress due to natural or human-caused disasters.
For information on recovery from the tornadoes, visit fema.gov/disaster/4630.
