SAMHSA Awards Michigan a $475,194 Grant To Help People Affected by Flint Water Crisis

The SAMHSA Emergency Response Grant will help provide services such as specialized outreach, crisis counseling, emergency case management, and coordinated health care programs for Flint residents affected by the water crisis.

SAMHSA awards Michigan a $475,194 grant to help people affected by Flint water crisis

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today awarded the state of Michigan a $475,194 SAMHSA Emergency Response Grant (SERG) to help provide behavioral health and other support services to people affected by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

The SERG grant will help provide services such as specialized outreach, crisis counseling, emergency case management and coordinated health care programs for Flint residents affected by the water crisis. This additional outreach could improve access to needed treatment for people who might face special challenges, such as people with limited English proficiency, or people with hearing or vision impairments.

“Crises such as this one can take a heavy toll on people and communities, including on their emotional health and well-being. Although most people bounce back, others may need extra assistance to cope and recover,” said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Administrator Kana Enomoto. “This emergency response grant, along with other SAMHSA programs, will help give people the support they need to resume healthy, fulfilled lives.”

In addition to this grant, SAMHSA has other programs to help the residents of the Flint community overcome this crisis. One such program is SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline (Call 1-800-985-5990 or text ‘TalkWithUs’ to 66746), which provides immediate counseling to anyone in need. The Helpline is a 24 hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week resource that responds to people who need crisis counseling after experiencing a natural or man-made disaster or tragedy.

The Helpline connects callers immediately to trained and caring professionals from the closest crisis counseling center in the nationwide network of centers. The Helpline staff will provide confidential counseling, referrals and other needed support services. The toll-free Helpline is confidential and multilingual.

The Helpline can also be accessed at http://disasterdistress.samhsa.gov/(link is external).

For more information, contact the SAMHSA Press Office at 240-276-2130.