"Helping Hands, Healing Minds"

The New Orleans Mental Health Education and Training Project

New Orleans needs your help!

• Federal officials estimate that there are about 500,000 persons in need of some form of mental health services as a result of Katrina and its aftermath, many of whom are racial and ethnic minorities.
• Federal officials estimate that 30% of New Orleans residents are suffering from serious mental health problems, and that there are another 20% in need of help though they do not meet the criteria for a diagnosed disorder.
• The mental health needs associated with these disorders include treatment of post traumatic stress disorders, substance abuse counseling, screening for anxiety and depression as well assessment of medication needs for the treatment of various mental health disorders.
• New Orleans reports that pre-Katrina they received 3 suicidal or severely depressed calls a day. Now calls number around 14 a day.

What can you do?

• We are planning a day long training in evidence based therapies, specifically Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and PTSD for both adults and children. They have indicated that there are approximately 500 individuals who will attend such a training.
• Help us design a workshop for teachers and parents (working with the Children's Defense Fund) on signs of mental health distress in children, what can be done and when to refer. We are looking for individuals with expertise in children and families again with particular focus on the subpopulations.
• In addition to training there are a number of other ways to get involved. We are committed to leaving toolkits behind so we are seeking copies of articles about these therapies, especially if they are pertinent to the subpopulations above. So if you have materials if you would send them electronically to me at cmhd@ucla.edu that would be very helpful.
• We are looking for short one pagers that can be given to individuals on how to cope with change, how to spot signs of mental health distress and self help steps that can be taken, or ways that parents can help children to feel safer. We are looking for any materials of this type that you think may be helpful and for individuals who can translate the materials for the subpopulations above.
• We are also attempting a drive to get books, school supplies and backpacks for children from 5-15 as a way of celebrating their new start as some are just returning to school for the first time this Fall. If you can gather books for fun reading in their primary language as well as English this would be useful gifts for our partners, Children's Defense Fund to give away.