Resources and Support for the Victims in Butler, Pennsylvania

The following resources may also be of assistance in the aftermath of this crime.

Be Red Cross Ready: Taking Care of Your Emotional Health After a Disaster
This fact sheet explains normal reactions to a disaster, what a survivor can do to cope with these emotions, and where to seek additional help if needed. This fact sheet is also available in a large-print edition and in Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

OVC Help Series for Crime Victims: Homicide
This OVC brochure provides information on what to expect as a co-victim or survivor of homicide, where you can get help, and additional resources for information and assistance.

Tips for Survivors: Coping With Grief After a Disaster or Traumatic Event
This tip sheet contains information about grief, the grieving process, and what happens when the process is interrupted and complicated or traumatic grief occurs.

Tips for Survivors: Coping With Anger After a Disaster or Other Traumatic Event
This tip sheet intends to aid survivors in coping with bouts of anger that may follow disasters or traumatic events. It describes the physical changes that may indicate anger and provides guidance for coping and integrating positive habits into your life, as well as resources for additional support.

Tips for Survivors of a Disaster or Other Traumatic Event: Coping with Retraumatization
This brochure explains the signs and symptoms of retraumatization. Gives guidance on how to manage the symptoms. It provides resources for building resilience and an adequate support system for dealing with triggering events. This brochure is also available in Spanish.

Tips for Survivors of a Disaster or Traumatic Event: What To Expect in Your Personal, Family, Work, and Financial Life
The Spanish tip sheet suggests steps to cope with a disaster or other trauma, lists signs of the need for professional mental health and substance use assistance, and identifies resources for additional information and support.

What You Can Do If You Are a Victim of Crime
This brochure highlights victims' rights and compensation and assistance programs, and lists national organizations that help victims to find information or obtain referrals.

Transcend Mobile App and Other Self-Help

Funded by OVC, this National Mass Violence Center mobile app provides resources and information about common reactions to mass violence and strategies for recovery. Users can access tools and activities on calming the body, managing distressing thoughts, maintaining healthy activity, coping with loss, and helping others. A “Get Help” feature offers contact information for crisis hotlines and other support services.

Learn more and download the Transcend Mobile App.

The National Mass Violence Center also has a page providing self-help for survivors. It addresses common trauma reactions, coping tips, guides for parents and caregivers, and other support.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
The NCTSN provides a series of resources that may assist parents, school personnel, pediatric care providers, and others when speaking with youth and teens, including:

• Community Violence Resources
• Terrorism and Violence Resources
• Childhood Traumatic Grief

Select resources have been translated into various languages, including Spanish, American Sign Language, and more.

The NCTSN also has resources for responders on Psychological First Aid. Psychological First Aid is an early intervention to support children, adolescents, adults, and families impacted by these types of events.

Compensation Protocol: A Guide to Responding to Mass Casualty Incidents
The product of the OVC-funded Mass Casualty Protocol project, this manual examines the role of victim compensation programs during a mass casualty incident and describes a strategy for serving victims, survivors, allied victim professionals, and compensation program staff.

Complex Homicide Resource for Victim Advocates and Allies
This report may be used as a resource for victim advocates, law enforcement or other allied professionals that participate in existing multidisciplinary teams that respond to homicides, or those that are aiming to create one.

Field Manual for Mental Health and Human Service Workers in Major Disasters
This Field Manual is intended for mental health workers and other human service providers who assist survivors following a disaster. This pocket reference provides the basics of disaster mental health, with numerous specific and practical suggestions for workers.

A Guide to Managing Stress for Disaster Responders and First Responders
This guide is designed for first responders, public health workers, construction workers, transportation workers, utility workers, crisis counselors, and volunteers who respond to disasters and other crises. The guide provides information on how people experience stress, signs of extreme stress, and ways for organizations and individuals to manage and mitigate stress before, during, and after disaster response.

Just Ask: A Toolkit to Help Advocates, Attorneys, and Law Enforcement Meet the Needs of Crime Victims with Disabilities 
This OVC-funded online training toolkit produced by the Vera Institute of Justice was created in response to conversations with professionals working with survivors, many of whom are open to asking about accommodations, but don’t know how and are worried about saying the wrong thing. The toolkit lays out four simple steps for providing accommodations to survivors with disabilities, and includes sample language that can be used when talking to survivors.

Media Coverage of Traumatic Events: Research on Effects
This article discusses the potential impact of viewing news coverage of mass violence and terrorism on adults and children. It concludes with tips on how to address stress symptoms caused by viewing traumatic events.

Mental Health Response to Mass Violence and Terrorism: A Field Guide
This guide is intended for service providers and professionals in the mental health field providing the basics in responding to and assisting victims and families during the aftermath of mass violence and terrorism.

Multidisciplinary Response to Crime Victims With Disabilities Community Guide 
This guide provides a seven-step model for enhancing any community's capacity to respond to crime victims with disabilities.

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services: Officer Safety and Wellness
This section of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services website contains resources on protecting law enforcement personnel from the physical, mental, and emotional health problems associated with the job. Resources on this page include guidance on handling mass casualty incidents.

Providing Trauma Support to Your Workforce Following an Incident or Threat of Violence
This issue brief examines trauma support for hospital and health system team members. It was developed from discussions the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals Against Violence Advisory Group had with the Medical University of South Carolina’s National Mass Violence Center team about the challenges and opportunities to provide trauma support to health care workers following an incident or threat of violence.

Psychological First Aid for First Responders: Tips for Emergency and Disaster Response Workers
This tip sheet provides first responders with information on how to address people for the first time after a disaster and how to calmly communicate and promote safety.

Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide
Developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the National Center for PTSD, Psychological First Aid is an evidence-informed approach for assisting survivors of disaster and terrorism.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA supports preparedness efforts by states, U.S. territories, Tribes, and local entities to deliver an effective mental health and substance use-related (behavioral health) response to disasters. In addition to administering the Disaster Distress Helpline dedicated to year-round disaster crisis counseling, SAMHSA offers other disaster behavioral health preparedness and response services and resources including:

• SAMHSA Technology Transfer Centers: the Centers develop and strengthen the specialized behavioral healthcare and primary healthcare workforce that provides prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for substance use disorders and mental illness.
   
• SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center: helps states, territories, Tribes, and local providers plan for and respond to mental health and substance use–⁠related needs after a disaster.
   
• SAMHSA Disaster Behavioral Health Information Series Resource Center: This resource collection focuses on incidents of mass violence, community violence, and terrorism and their effects. Resources discuss common reactions to incidents of mass violence, tips for coping, and ways to support children and youth in coping.
   
• SAMHSA Disaster App: this mobile app helps responders focus on people in need by providing resources for any type of traumatic event, including tip sheets; guides for responders, teachers, parents, and caregivers; and a directory of behavioral health service providers in the impacted area. Key preparedness materials are available and information can be shared with others via text message, email, or transfer to a computer for printing.

Supporting Crime Victims with Disabilities Online Training Toolkit
This toolkit was designed to provide comprehensive and culturally responsive informational and educational resources, tools, videos, and examples of best practices for law enforcement, forensic interviewers, victim advocates, and others to prepare them to effectively respond to victims of crime with disabilities across the lifespan. Leveraging the guidance and expertise of representatives from these fields, the toolkit embodies ideals of intersectionality, accessibility, and usability among others. The toolkit includes video testimonials from survivors with disabilities, recorded lectures from professionals across a variety of systems, and interactive activities. You can review the content from beginning to end or select specific topics of interest.

Tips for Disaster Responders: Understanding Compassion Fatigue
Disaster behavioral health response work can be very satisfying, but it can also take its toll on disaster responders. This fact sheet discusses the causes and signs of compassion fatigue and tips for how to prevent it.

Tips for First Responders, 5th Edition (supporting victims with disabilities)
This booklet offers tips that first responders can use during emergencies to support and communicate with people with disabilities. The booklet is divided into sections that focus on older adults and on people with service animals, mobility impairments, autism, multiple chemical sensitivities, cognitive disabilities, and hearing or visual impairments.

The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit
Research shows that vicarious trauma, when left unaddressed, can lead to staff burnout, turnover, stress, and a lesser quality of services for victims. This OVC toolkit offers guidance to help organizations strengthen their ability to address work-related exposure to trauma.

• Develop a comprehensive victim assistance plan for responding to incidents of mass violence, terrorism, natural disasters, and high-profile criminal incidents.
• Bring key partners together to review existing emergency plans, and to initiate or continue the development of a victim assistance plan within a community.
• Establish victim assistance protocols, which can greatly enhance the effectiveness of response and recovery efforts.
• Follow protocols for short- and long-term responses to victims following incidents of mass violence.

Faith Communities and the Disaster Distress Helpline
This tip sheet provides religious leaders with information on SAMHSA's Disaster Distress Helpline, which offers 24-hour, year-round crisis counseling for individuals and families experiencing emotional distress because of disasters. The tip sheet explains who answers the Disaster Distress Helpline, what happens when someone calls or texts the helpline, and what services are available. The tip sheet also notes when the helpline should be used as a referral. This tip sheet is also available in Spanish.

Faith Communities and Disaster Mental Health
This tip sheet provides information for religious leaders about common stress reactions people may experience in response to a disaster and suggests ways they can cope, and help others cope, with disaster stress reactions. The sheet also provides information on referring people for mental health services. This tip sheet is also available in Spanish.

Psychological First Aid: Spiritual Leader and Practitioners
This tip sheet discusses the importance and benefits of Psychological First Aid in faith-based communities and how to reach out to those who need help and provide them with comfort and care. Psychological First Aid is an approach that the general public can use to assist others immediately after a disaster. The tip sheet discusses how to recognize basic needs, support problem-solving, validate survivors' feelings and thoughts, help survivors connect with support systems, educate survivors about stress responses, and reinforce strengths and positive coping strategies.