Caucus Chair 
David Barber
MentalHealthandWellness@iaem.com

Vice Chair
Scott Carpenter

Board Liaison
Carrie Speranza, IAEM-USA 1st Vice President

USA1stVP@iaem.com

Staff Liaison
Lexi Baird, lexi@iaem.com

IAEM members interested in participating in this caucus should email the caucus staff liaison and tell them how you can contribute to or learn from this caucus's important work.

Vision Statement

Our vision is of a profession that prioritizes mental health and wellness in all aspects of the emergency management and response community.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to bring mental health and wellness to the forefront of the emergency management and response community, provide a platform where issues are openly addressed, become a critical part of overall emergency management culture, and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues impacting individuals, professionals, and organizations.

Goals

The goals of this Caucus are to support the emergency management and response community by:

• Encouraging, advocating for, and accepting open conversations about mental health and wellness.
• Promoting mental health and wellness resources.
• Sharing mental health awareness messaging and mechanisms to encourage people to seek support.
• Recommending resources and techniques for individuals who are seeking to normalize mental health and wellness within their organizations.

Hotlines

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988
Disaster Distress Helpline: Call or Text 1-800-985-5990; DisasterDistress@samhsa.gov
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273=8255, Press Option 1

Resources

• Mindful Public Safety Podcast
• Mindfulness in Public Safety website
• First Responders and Disaster Responders Resource Portal | SAMHSA
• MentalHealth.gov website
• Disaster Mental Health Information (apa.org)
• Behavioral Health Program - IAFF
• The Institute for Disaster Mental Health at SUNY New Paltz
• International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc.
• Green Cross
• Take Care of Your Emotional Health (for your clients and the public) (counseling.org)
• National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Mental Health is Health
• #BeTheChange
• Code Green Campaign
• Healthy Mind CredibleMind
• How the Mental Health Crisis is Affecting Education
• Mental Health Guide for High School Students
• Mental Health Guide for College Students 
• Mental Health in High School Students
• How to Reduce Test Anxiety
• Guide to Time Management for High School Students

Articles

• The Lifeline and 988
• Putting first responders’ mental health on the front lines - Counseling Today
• Mental health and mindfulness amongst Australian fire fighters | BMC Psychology | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)
• Disaster stress: an emergency management perspective | Emerald Insight
• What is the psychology of disaster management? (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Journal of Emergency Management Special Issue on COVID-19 and Mental Health

IAEM Annual Conference

• Find out all the latest information about the upcoming Annual Conference at iaemconference.info.
• View Long Beach Resources.
• View Savannah Resources.

IAEM Annual Conference Caucus Posters

• 2022 Conference Poster Presented at the Annual Conference
• 2021 Conference Poster Presented at the Annual Conference