1. For information about volunteering through Disaster Psychiatry Outreach, please go directly to their website at www.disasterpsych.org.
2. Information received from the University of Miami
The recent earthquake in Haiti leaves many of us wondering what we can do to help. While the first priority has been to attend to the physical needs of those affected by this tragedy we know that support and assistance will be needed to help our Haitian brothers and sisters cope with the trauma and loss they have experienced.
In an effort to assist with the coordination of the mental health community's response to earthquake in Haiti, Dr. Guerda Nicolas at the University of Miami is compiling a list of mental health professionals from all fields (social work, psychiatry, psychology, marriage and family therapy, etc.) who are Haitian or speak Creole. We will be creating a website to make this information available to agencies and individuals who need assistance.
We are looking for Haitian and/or Creole-speaking practitioners who are willing to assist in relief efforts by providing comments to the media regarding mental health issues or making a trip to Haiti to aid in the relief work.
If you are able to assist please contact Stephanie Donelly: s.donnelly@umiami.edu or Judelysse Gomez: virgo190@aol.com. Please include your contact information with the city and state where you live and let us know how you would be able to help (being a media contact, providing services in Haiti, providing services in the U.S.)
To assist us in finding as many professionals as possible, please forward this message to any mental health professionals you know who are Haitian or speak Creole, to your colleagues, and the professional organizations you are involved in.
We sincerely appreciate your help!
Judelysse Gomez
Doctoral Student
University of Miami