SUNY New Paltz and American Red Cross collaborate to train volunteers in Gulf Coast

NEW PALTZ — Continuing and Professional Education and the Institute for Disaster Mental Health (IDMH) at the State University of New York at New Paltz are collaborating with the American Red Cross to offer training in response to the Katrina and Rita hurricanes.

An overview course for volunteers will be offered on the New Paltz campus in the Jacobson Faculty Tower, Room 1010, at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 21.

Professor James Halpern, director of the IDMH, will teach the courses. Halpern, who has responded to both local and national disasters as a member of the Disaster Mental Health Services function of the American Red Cross, was among the first mental health professionals to offer support in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.

In addition to training Red Cross volunteers, graduate interns in the IDMH will be offering re-entry interviews for Red Cross volunteers as they return home from the storm damaged communities.

“This is a great opportunity for these students, and an incredibly challenging assignment,” said Halpern, who will be supervising the re-entry interview process. “People coming back from those assignments are pretty stunned.”

Additional courses will be offered on campus in November covering information on: Introduction to Disaster; Mass Care; Shelter Operations; and Client Services.

The classes are open to Ulster County Red Cross volunteers only. If you are interested in becoming a Red Cross volunteer, contact Ulster County Red Cross at (845) 338-7020, or the SUNY New Paltz IDMH at (845) 257-3477.

For more information about the institute, visit www.newpaltz.edu/idmh.