The Haiti Earthquake and Social Workers
Important standards for psychosocial and mental health response in emergencies
Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in Emergency Settings - the IASC is the primary United Nations mechanism for inter-agency coordination of humanitarian assistance. The Guidelines enable humanitarian actors to plan, establish and coordinate a set of minimum multi-sectoral responses to protect and improve people’s mental health and psychosocial well-being in the midst of an emergency.
A Brief Excerpt of the IASC Guidelines – a Must Read for a summary of “Do No Harm” pointers related to MHPSS in emergencies such as Haiti.
Sphere standards - The Sphere Project produced a handbook of minimum standards to be attained in disaster assistance in each of five key sectors: water supply and sanitation; nutrition; food aid; shelter and health services (including mental health). The handbook was developed through broad-based consultation in the humanitarian community with thousands of individuals from over 400 NGOs, UN agencies, and academic institutions organizations representing 80 countries.
NASW’s compiled resources on psychosocial interventions and standards
Resources for family members coping with this disaster
NASW’s Help Starts Here site provides general tips and guidance on coping with grief and loss
The Red Cross has produced a guide to ensuring emotional health after a disaster and is available in both English and Haitian-Creole.
Resources for social workers who want to help
Donate through the NASW Foundation’s Social Work Disaster Assistance Fund to assist social workers and/or social welfare organizations who can provide help.
Make contributions to organizations listed here:
For social workers with prior international disaster relief experience:
The NASW Florida chapter has a number of suggestions of ways to help on its web page.
For more information about how to get involved, visit the USAID Disaster Assistance page on Haiti.
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