Communicating in a Crisis: Risk Communication Guidelines for Public Officials

This action brief provides rural communities recommended strategies for adapting promising or proven interventions to better support crisis response and pre-arrest diversion in their communities. It is the first of three briefs developed from the SAMHSA Pre-Arrest Diversion Expert Panel. 

This toolkit arms disaster recovery workers with materials that aid in responding effectively to the general public during and after a disaster, and in dealing with workplace stress. The toolkit includes SAFE-T practice guidelines, and suicide prevention wallet cards. It also includes guides for parents, caregivers, teachers, and others. Access the Disaster Kit on your mobile phone by downloading the SAMHSA Disaster App.

This report summarizes the clinical and cost effectiveness of crisis services. It also presents case studies of approaches states are using to coordinate, consolidate, and blend funding sources to provide robust crisis services.

The wallet card provides stress reduction tips and techniques as well as lists sources for additional assistance.

The book is composed of SAMHSA’s “National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care: Best Practice Toolkit” and related papers on crisis services. The toolkit reflects relevant clinical and health services research, review of top national program practices and replicable approaches that support best practice implementation. The related papers address key issues relevant to crisis services, homelessness, technology advances, substance use, legal issues impacting crisis services, financing crisis care, diverse populations, children and adolescents, rural and frontier areas, and the role of law enforcement.

Part of a suicide prevention campaign, this poster reminds teens that others have had similar feelings and that there are ways to get through it. Urges teens to visit the reachout.com website to hear stories from others. The poster comes flat and is 23.5 inches x 17 inches.