Disaster Response
Page Contents:
A number of large-scale crises, some natural, others man-made, occur
in the world every year. The American
Red Cross and its sister red cross organizations throughout the
world, all under
the umbrella of the
International Red Cross/Red Crescent (IRCRC), respond to dozens
of them each year, in addition to the thousands of smaller incidents
such as house fires, transportation accidents, hazardous materials
spills, etc. But they could use your help in the form of clinical
services and/or financial assistance.
Clicking on this satellite image of a hurricane will pull up a
printer-friendly chart containing two
categories of information: 1) many of the world crises
currently occurring, as
described by the IRCRC or InterAction (the largest alliance of U.S.-based international
development and humanitarian non-governmental organizations, including
the American Red Cross), and 2) the red cross organizations that
serve the countries involved:
While volunteering to provide clinical services "on the
ground" may not be feasible in all cases, especially those overseas, providing donations to the red
cross organizations for the countries listed on the chart is. For countries other than the United States, this
can be done by logging on to the
IRCRC Web site and making an
on-line (tax-deductible) donation in U.S. dollars via a secure server.
The IRCRC will then transfer those funds to the relevant red cross
organization(s) that you have specified. For the United States, see the
Donations to the American Red Cross section below.
If, on the other hand, volunteering your mental health skills is
possible, please scroll down to the next section.
In 1994, the American
Red Cross added PCA parent association American Counseling
Association (ACA) to its list of disaster response
partners. As a result,
professional counselors are able
to volunteer their clinical services to the Red Cross
when it's necessary to respond to state and national
crises. (If you're a psychologist or social worker, the
American Psychological Association and
the National Association of
Social Workers are also partnered with the Red Cross.) This is one way we can give back to the community
with the mental health skills that we possess.
In order to volunteer for the American Red Cross' Disaster Mental
Health Services program, you must be ...
- state-licensed to practice outside
the school setting (a state board of education-issued license does not
qualify at this time)
- a participant in two formal Red
Cross training courses
- willing to respond to a crisis at
least once a year
The ACA conducts the second Red Cross training course each year at its annual
conference. As an added bonus, 12 contact hours are awarded
by the ACA for this training toward
National Board for Certified Counselors CCMHC,
MAC, or NCSC board certification. As for
other professional counseling credentials, the
Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification and the
National Academy of Certified Family Therapists may accept
the hours for CRC and CFT board
certification, respectively, and so may the
PA State
Board of
Education for Educational Specialist state licensure; be sure to contact them first to find out.
(PA state
board of social
work/professional counseling CEUs for LPC state licensure are not
available until the PA Dept. of
State completes the regulation development process--see the
Government Relations
page for updates on that.)
Prior to enrolling in the ACA-led course, you
must take the first course through your local Red Cross
chapter. (And actually, both courses can be
taken through your local chapter.) Contact information for
your chapter can be found at the Red Cross Web site or in your phone
book.
For more information, or to enroll in the ACA-led course, contact the
ACA's Professional Affairs Cluster at
dbeales@counseling.org or at 1-800-347-6647, X306 (outside the U.S.: +1 (703) 823-9800, X306).
In particular, professional counselors from California and Nevada who
are interested in participating should e-mail or call this ACA office
for assistance. Due to not having an LPC state license
available (yet), your situation is unique.
If volunteering your clinical services to the Red Cross' Disaster
Mental Health Services program is not possible at this time, consider
giving an on-line (tax-deductible) donation via the
Red Cross Web site's secure
server, or over the phone by calling 1-800-435-7669 (outside the U.S.:
+1 (202) 303-4498). Or designate the Red Cross as one of your
United Way of America
paycheck deductions.
For additional information, please contact the PCA Public Relations & Advocacy
Committee at pr@pacounseling.org
or at (412) 983-7734 (outside the U.S.: country code is "+1").
