Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

Drought-Related Resources

This installment of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Disaster Behavioral Health Information Series (DBHIS) focuses on the disaster behavioral health and economic impacts of drought. In particular it is designed for people going through the drought that has impacted large areas of the United States in 2012, as well as those assisting with the response to this drought. However, the resources it contains will be useful in many drought situations. Following is an annotated bibliography with links to resources, as well as a section on helpful links to organizations, agencies, and other materials that address immediate disaster response to drought.

Disaster Distress Helpline

The Disaster Distress Helpline is the Nation's first hotline dedicated to providing disaster crisis counseling. The toll-free helpline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This free, confidential, and multilingual crisis support service is available via telephone (1-800-985-5990) and SMS (text 'TalkWithUs' to 66746) to U.S. residents who are experiencing psychological distress as a result of a natural or human-caused disaster.

Suicide Prevention Helpline

For information on suicide prevention, or if you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org .

Additional resources are organized as follows:

Annotated Bibliography

• Drought- and Heat-Specific Information
• Resources on Coping with Economic Stress
• Rural Behavioral Health Resources
• General Disaster Response

Helpful Links

• Information Specific to Drought and Rural Areas
• General Disaster Response