Mental Health After the Floods

After a disaster like July’s storms, it’s normal to feel stressed, anxious or overwhelmed. Here are some resources that can help.

Vermont-Specific

• Visit MentalHealth.vermont.gov/flood to find statewide resources and support, including resources for youth, older adults, people with disabilities and first responders.
• United Way’s 2-1-1 Network partners with local organizations, businesses and government agencies to provide resources including mental health care, health and community services, and more. Call 211 or visit Vermont211.org.
• Starting Over Strong VT offers free services for disaster survivors in their homes and community spaces. Outreach workers provide support and counseling, help develop coping strategies, and share resources that can help you recover. To reach them, call 211 or visit MentalHealth.vermont.gov/SOSVT.
• Pathways Vermont Support Line provides confidential, non-judgmental peer-support for Vermonters 18 and older. The line is open 24/7 – to connect, call or text 833-888-2557.
• Crisis Text Line provides free text-based mental health support and crisis intervention. Text “VT” to 741741 or visit CrisisTextLine.org.
• Farm First helps farmers and their families resolve personal and work-related challenges. Farm First counselors provide resources, professional and personal support to help you tackle stress, financial concerns, labor issues, substance use and more. Call 1-877-493-6216 or visit InvestEAP.org/FarmFirst
  • You will be asked to create a login when accessing the site for the first time – enter “farm” as the organization password.
• Vermont Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health helps people up to age 22 experiencing emotional, behavioral or mental health challenges and their families. Call 802-876-7021 or 800-639-6071.
• Also offers a list of county-specific support phone lines at Vermont Local Mental Health Crisis Support Lines & Phone Numbers (vffcmh.org).

Nationwide

• Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24/7 crisis counseling and emotional support for disaster survivors, run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Call 800-985-5990 – press 2 for Spanish – visit samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline, or text “TalkWithUs” for English or “Hablanos” for Spanish to 66746. Help is available in over 100 languages through interpreters; for American Sign Language, call with a videophone-enabled device, or visit the website and click “ASL Now.”
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline offers help 24/7 for people in crisis, and for those worried about a loved one. Call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org for English or 988lifeline.org/es for Spanish.
  • 988 partners:
    • The Trevor Project support for LGBTQI+ youth and young adults: call 866-488-7386, text 678678 or visit TheTrevorProject.org/get-help
    • Veteran’s Crisis Line call 988 and press 1, text 838255 or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.

FEMA is committed to ensuring disaster assistance is accomplished equitably, without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. Any disaster survivor or member of the public may contact the FEMA Civil Rights Office if they feel that they are the victim of discrimination. FEMA’s Civil Rights Office can be contacted toll-free at 833-285-7448. Multilingual operators are available.