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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)
- Creating Supportive Environments: When Scary Things Happen (En Español)
- After a Crisis: Helping Young Children Heal (En Español)
- Age-Related Reactions to a Traumatic Event (En Español)
- Helping Teens with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers (En Español)
- Helping School-Age Children with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers (En Español)
- Helping Young Children with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers (En Español)
- Once I Was Very Very Scared (En Español) – children’s book for young children
- Pause-Reset-Nourish (PRN) to Promote Wellbeing (En Español) (for responders)
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.
Resources to Support Firefighters:
The Center for Firefighter Behavioral Health has resources for firefighters, providers supporting them, and their friends and family, including the Helping Heroes web-based training.
Mobile Apps:
- Help Kids Cope·
- PFA Mobile
- SAMHSA Behavioral Health Disaster Response App
- Supporting Firefighter Families
- Bounce Back Now (En Español)
Available from the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University and other partners:
- Sustaining the Psychological Well-Being of Caregivers While Caring for Disaster Victims
- Safety, Recovery and Hope after Disaster: Helping Communities and Families Recover
- Leadership Communication: Anticipating and Responding to Stressful Events
- Wildfire Smoke Factsheet: Protecting Children from Wildfire Smoke and Ash
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.
Additional Resources:
For those that are needing technical assistance or additional resources, please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Melissa Brymer at [email protected].
Our hearts and sympathies go out to our southern California community during these January wildfire and public safety power shutoff events. This time of crisis, living in fear of losing our homes, our communities, and potentially our loved ones, takes a toll on young children. Please be aware of steps you can take to be ready if you need to evacuate or shelter in place, possibly without electricity.
- In the case of a wildfire near your home, please listen to local authorities. If told to leave, Don’t Wait, Evacuate. Check fire.ca.gov for updates and resources for new and ongoing incidents.
- If you are in Los Angeles County, visit lacounty.gov/emergency for the most up-to-date information.
- Shelters are open in Los Angeles County:
Emergency Evacuation Centers
Westwood Recreation Center
The center is open for evacuees for shelter. Thankfully, they accept domestic family pets, but they must be in a travel carrier or pet crate. And it will allow residents to remain overnight.
📍 Location: 1350 S Sepulveda Blvd 90025
Ritchie Valens Recreation Center
📍 Location: 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd
El Camino Real Charter High School
📍 Location: 5440 Valley Circle Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Pasadena Civic Center
📍 Location: 300 East Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91101
Arcadia Community Center
📍 Location: 375 Campus Dr, Arcadia, CA 91007
- Get alerts directly to your phone by signing up for local emergency alerts.
Share this information with your friends and other people you know to prepare and stay safe.
All children and their families have the right to feel welcomed and appreciated for who they are as they participate in early childhood programs.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a primary resource guiding directors and teachers in creating programs that make that right a reality.
At CalAIMH, we are appalled at Alabama’s banning of DAP and the removal of Dr. Barbara Cooper, a national leader at NAEYC, as head of the state’s early care and education programs.
It is reprehensible to put at risk the social and emotional health and growth of young children – particularly the marginalized children at whom this is most directed – in order to score political points in some kind of culture war. We strongly object.
One thing you can do is to sign on to the letter from leaders in the field, including many former presidents of NAEYC. Click on this link and let your voice be heard.
The California Association for Infant Mental Health offers deepest condolences to the families of the 18 souls who lost their lives to senseless gun violence in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay and to the many more injured and impacted by these unthinkable acts of violence.
We stand with the grieving Asian Pacific Islander communities in California and across the nation. We must #StopGunViolence and #StopAAPIHate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Monterey_Park_shooting
The APA Global Citizen Psychologist citation recognizes psychologists who are ambassadors for psychological science in their communities, bringing their professional knowledge, experience and expertise to benefit those around them by volunteering in their community at the local, national or international level.
https://div52.net/awards/apa-global-citizen-psychologist-citation/apa-gcpcr-2022/
