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Here is a compilation of pandemic related resources for faith-based and community leaders from our colleagues at SAMHSA.

Spiritual First Aid

Spiritual First Aid is the first disaster spiritual and emotional care intervention to have been built from the ground up using both biblical wisdom and evidence-informed psychological insights gained from years of scientific study. This manual from the Humanitarian Disaster Institute offers a step-by-step approach to learning and providing spiritual and emotional care for others. This manual will equip you to use Spiritual First Aid’s easy-to-use BLESS Method, which takes the “guesswork” out of providing disaster, spiritual, and emotional care remotely and while staying at home.

https://www.spiritualfirstaidhub.com/

The Opioid Crisis Practical Toolkit: Helping Faith-based and Community Leaders Bring Hope and Healing

The U.S. Department for Health and Human Services recognizes that faith and community based partners eagerly and willingly step in to meet the needs of their communities. That’s why the HHS Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives created this practical toolkit for faith-based and community leaders. We hope this toolkit will be successful in to jump starting an action plan in your community or advancing your existing efforts to meet the needs of individuals and families struggling with addiction, and its often severe consequences.

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/the-opioid-crisis-practical-toolkit.pdf

Faith and Community Roadmap to Recovery Support: Getting Back to Work

The opioid crisis and epidemic of addiction in the U.S. is exacting a high toll on the lives and livelihoods of individuals and families. Lack of resources, financial security, and recovery support can challenge recovery efforts. This Roadmap to Recovery Support has been created to guide congregations and communities on ways they may walk alongside individuals and families challenged by the experience and consequences of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) and other addiction challenges.

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/faith-community-roadmap-to-recovery-support-march2020.pdf

A guide on Ministry during Pandemic: From Awareness to Implementation was created by Dr. Naomi Paget

A resource guide, Light our way: A Guide for Spiritual Care in Times of Disaster for Disaster Response Volunteers

The purpose of this resource is to inform, encourage and affirm the hundreds of thousands of disaster responders who put their personal plans and routines on hold in the event of a local or national disaster. If you are one of those who carries out one or more of the myriad essential functions in the relief and recovery stages of disaster response, this booklet is for you.

Mental Health in a Time of COVID-19 Webinar Series was launched. Part 1: Preparing Leaders to Address the Challenges was Recorded

You can Register Here for Part 2: When Trauma, Fear, Anxiety Become Overwhelming, scheduled for Tuesday, May 12, 12:00 ET.

As a result of COVID-19, many may experience increases in negative emotions like fear and anxiety. For some, the event may be traumatic in and of itself or lead to individuals remembering trauma from the past. Faith and community leaders themselves may even be experiencing some of these challenges. This webinar will help participants know how to acknowledge and respond to higher levels of fear and anxiety in individuals. It will also help leaders ask the appropriate questions to consider the impact of trauma in people’s lives. Lastly, it will suggest strategies for how faith and community leaders can respond.