Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

Information Specific to Drought and Rural Areas | General Disaster Response

Information Specific to Drought and Rural Areas

eXtension.org: Drought Resources
This website offers an interactive learning environment that connects knowledge consumers with knowledge providers. This page offers a list of resources on how all areas of the farming community can be affected by the drought.
http://www.extension.org/drought_resources

Disaster Behavioral Health Information Series (DBHIS) Installment on Rural Populations
The Rural Populations DBHIS installment presents information unique to rural communities that should be considered in the development and implementation of behavioral health preparedness and response plans.
http://www.samhsa.gov/dtac/dbhis/dbhis_rural_intro.asp

The Human Side of Agriculture: Managing Tough Times
The Human Development and Family Studies Department at Colorado State University offers resources and workshops to assist farming families and individuals with coping during difficult farming and economic times.
http://www.mtt.cahs.colostate.edu/resources  

Journal of Rural Community Psychology (JRCP)
The JRCP is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal published in electronic form (no subscription required) by Marshall University, in Huntington, WV.
http://www.marshall.edu/jrcp  

National Association for Rural Mental Health
The National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH) is a membership organization that promotes the unification of members of the rural mental health community to develop and enhance mental health and substance abuse services in rural communities. This website contains information about NARMH membership, upcoming conferences, and publications related to rural mental health issues.
http://www.narmh.org  

National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC)
The NDMC, established at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1995, helps people and institutions develop and implement measures to reduce societal vulnerability to drought, stressing preparedness and risk management rather than crisis management. This website also has a section to help children better understand the drought.
http://drought.unl.edu/Home.aspx  

Rural Assistance Center (RAC)
A product of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Rural Initiative, the RAC helps rural communities and other rural stakeholders access the full range of available programs, funding, and research in order to provide quality health and human services to rural residents.
http://www.raconline.org  

Information and questions specific to rural mental health can be found here:
http://www.raconline.org/topics/mental_health.  

Rural Health Research Gateway
This online resource provides access to all of the research and findings of the nine Rural Health Research Centers and Policy Analysis Initiatives grant programs funded by the Office of Rural Health Policy. Its aim is to “help us better understand the problems that rural communities face in their efforts to access high-quality, affordable health care, and to lead healthier lives.”
http://www.ruralhealthresearch.org  

Rural Healthy People 2010
According to its online description, “the objectives of the Rural Healthy People 2010 project are to employ a survey of State and local rural health leaders to identify rural health priorities, to synthesize available research and other publications on these priorities, to identify and describe models for practice employed by rural communities to address these priorities, and to disseminate this information to rural communities.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448522

Rural Information Center (RIC)
The RIC, according to its website, “provides services for rural communities, local officials, organizations, business, and rural citizens working to maintain the vitality of America's rural areas.” The RIC website contains links to current information on a wide variety of rural resources.
http://ric.nal.usda.gov

Rural Resources from the American Psychological Association (APA)
The APA provides a list of resources focused on the psychological needs of rural communities. Links are included to scholarly journals, research and grants, and tele-health guidelines, as well as to associations and agencies focusing on rural health issues.
http://www.apa.org/practice/programs/rural/resources.aspx  

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA): Disaster and Drought Assistance
This USDA web page offers information on how to get the resources needed to help farmers, other small businesses, and communities during droughts and other disasters.
http://www.usda.gov/drought

U. S. Drought Monitor
The Drought Monitor updates regional drought conditions weekly.
http://www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu/monitor.html

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General Disaster Response

Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
The ACF is responsible for Federal programs that promote the economic and social wellbeing of families, children, individuals, and communities.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA)
COCA has established partnerships with national clinician organizations in order to quickly communicate information on disease outbreaks, terrorism events, and disaster response.
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/coca

Disaster Distress Helpline
The Disaster Distress Helpline is the Nation's first hotline dedicated to providing disaster crisis counseling. The toll-free helpline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This free, confidential, and multilingual crisis support service is available via telephone (1-800-985-5990) and SMS (text 'TalkWithUs' to 66746) to U.S. residents who are experiencing psychological distress as a result of a natural or human-caused disaster. The helpline’s website provides information on disaster distress in addition to a brochure and  wallet card.
http://disasterdistress.samhsa.gov

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
FEMA is the U.S. Government's principal agency charged with building and supporting the Nation's emergency management system.
http://www.fema.gov

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)
ASPR serves as the HHS Secretary's principal advisory staff on matters related to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. It also coordinates interagency activities responsible for emergency preparedness and the protection of the civilian population from acts of bioterrorism and other public health emergencies.
http://www.hhs.gov/aspr

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
HHS is the U.S. Government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.
http://www.hhs.gov

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: FirstResponder.gov
The Department of Homeland Security website for first responders provides a portal that allows Federal, State, local, and tribal first responders to easily access and leverage Federal web services; information on resources, products, standards, testing, and evaluation; and best practices in a collaborative environment.
http://www.firstresponder.gov

U.S. Public Health Service Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD)
OFRD is America's uniformed service of public health professionals. The Commissioned Corps achieves its mission through rapid and effective response to public health needs, leadership and excellence in public health practices, and the advancement of public health science.
http://ccrf.hhs.gov/ccrf

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