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Resources to Help Youth Cope after a Mass Shooting
Updated February 17, 2023
In response to recent school and mass shootings, the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (IWGYP) has compiled a list of resources to help youth, families, educators, and community members cope with and talk about community trauma, as well as provide psychological first aid.
Need Help Now?
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Disaster Distress Helpline is available 24/7/365: Call or text 1-800-985-5990 (for Spanish, press “2”) to be connected to a trained counselor any time.
Additional Helplines and Apps
Psychological First Aid (PFA) (Spanish version) is an early intervention to support children, adolescents, adults, and families impacted by these types of events.
- Handouts from the Psychological First Aid Manual
- PFA Mobile
- PFA Wallet Card | Spanish version
- PFA Online Training
- PFA: Tips for Adults | Spanish version
- Psychological First Aid: Adults Working with Children and Teens
- PFA: Parent Tips for Helping Preschool-Age Children After Disasters
- PFA: Parent Tips for Helping Adolescents
- PFA: Parent Tips for Helping School-Age Children after Disasters | Spanish version, Chinese version, Japanese version
PFA in Schools:
- Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S) Field Operations Guide
- Providing PFA-S: For Health-Related Professionals
- Providing PFA-S: For Principals and Administrators
- Providing PFA-S: For School Support Staff
- Providing PFA-S: For Teachers
- Psychological First Aid: Teachers and Educators
- Psychological First Aid: How to Help Students Recover After a Personal, Community, or School-Based Emergency — from the REMS TA Center
- Mass Violence Resources
- After a Crisis: Helping Young Children Heal
- After the Injury
- Age-Related Reactions to a Traumatic Event
- Assisting Parents/Caregivers in Coping with Collective Traumas
- Childhood Traumatic Grief: Information for Mental Health Providers
- Childhood Traumatic Grief: Information for Parents and Caregivers
- Childhood Traumatic Grief: Information for School Personnel
- Childhood Traumatic Grief: Youth Information Sheet | German version, Ukrainian version
- Coping After Mass Violence: For Adults
- Coping After Mass Violence: For Teens
- Creating Effective Child- and Family-Focused Disaster Behavioral Health Messages on Social Media
- Creating School Active Shooter/Intruder Drills
- Creating, Supporting, and Sustaining Trauma-Informed Schools: A System Framework
- Creating Supportive Environments When Scary Things Happen
- For Teens: Coping After Mass Violence | Spanish version
- Guiding Adults in Talking to Children about Death and Attending Services
- Help Kids Cope
- Helping School-Age Children with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers | Spanish version
- Helping Teens with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers | Spanish version
- Helping Young Children with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers | Spanish version
- Helping Youth after a Community Trauma: Tips for Educators | Spanish version, Chinese version
- Helping Youth Cope with Fourth of July Celebrations After a School Shooting | Spanish version
- Parent Guidelines for Helping Youth After the Recent Shooting | Spanish version
- Pause-Reset-Nourish (PRN) to Promote Wellbeing — For responders | Spanish version
- Psychological Impact of the Recent Shooting
- Restoring a Sense of Safety in the Aftermath of a Shooting: Tips for Parents and Professionals
- School Personnel
- School Shooting Resources
- Self Care for Educators
- Talking to Children: When Scary Things Happen | Spanish version
- Talking to Children about the Shooting
- Talking to Students When Violence Happens
- Talking to Teens about Violence | Spanish version
- Talking to Teens When Violence Happens
- Teacher Guidelines for Helping Students After Mass Violence
- Tips for Parents on Media Coverage of a Shooting
- Tips for Talking to Students about Violence
- Tip Sheet for Youth Talking to Journalists About the Shooting
- Tip Sheet for Youth Talking to Journalists After Mass Violence
- Community Violence Training Materials
- Coping with Community Violence Together
- Helping Your Children Manage Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting
- How Gun Violence Affects American Children
- Improving Community Preparedness to Assist Victims of Mass Violence and Domestic Terrorism
- Mass Violence and Behavioral Health
- Mass Violence/Community Violence
- Resources for Communities after a School Shooting
- Responding to a Mass Casualty Event At a School: General Guidance for the First Stage of Recovery
- Sesame Street: Community and Gun Violence
- Supporting Safe Schools: Lesson Plans and Resources for Gun Violence
- Trauma and Violence
- After a School Tragedy... Readiness, Response, Recovery, and Resources
- Children and Disasters
- Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event | Spanish version
- Culturally Competent Crisis Response
- Death and School Crisis
- Going Back to School After a Tragedy
- Guidelines for Responding to the Death of a Student or School Staff
- Helping Your Child Cope With Media Coverage of Disasters: A Fact Sheet for Parents | Spanish version
- It Ends With Us: A Plan to Reimagine Public Safety
- Mental Health First Aid Maryland
- Once I Was Very Scared
- Recovery From Large-Scale Crises: Guidelines for Crisis Teams and Administrators
- Resilience and Coping Intervention (RCI)
- Resources about Adolescents and Disaster
- Resources about Children and Disaster
- Resources for Adolescents
- Resources for Children
- Resources for Child Trauma-Informed Care
- Responding to Stressful Events: Helping Children Cope
- Responding to Stressful Events: Helping Teens Cope
- SchoolSafety.gov
- Sesame Street: Traumatic Experiences
- Survivors and Witnesses After Traumatic Events
- Tips for Survivors: Coping with Grief after a Disaster or Traumatic Event
- Tips for Survivors of a Disaster or Other Traumatic Event: Managing Stress | Spanish version, Punjabi version
- Tips for Talking With and Helping Children and Youth Cope After a Disaster or Traumatic Event: A Guide for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers
- The Transcend App
- Understanding Child Trauma
- Active Shooter Recovery Guide — From the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency
- Active Shooter Situations: After an Active Shooter Incident — From the REMS TA Center
- Addressing Adversarial and Human-Caused Threats that May Impact Students, Staff, and Visitors — From the REMS TA Center
- After an Emergency — From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Adolescent and School Health
- Attacks in Crowded and Public Spaces — From Ready.gov
- Before, During, and After: Staying Safe in Public Spaces — From the Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Caring for Children in a Disaster — From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event | Spanish version — From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Creating, Practicing, and Implementing Plans for Family Reunification Before, During and After an Emergency — From the REMS TA Center
- Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Traumatic Events | Spanish version — From the National Institute of Mental Health
- Helping Children Cope with Emergencies — From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Helping Crime Survivors Find their Justice — From the Office for Victims of Crime
- Helping Victims of Mass Violence & Terrorism: Planning, Response, Recovery, and Resources — From the Office for Victims of Crime
- Higher Education Emergency Management Virtual Toolkit — From the REMS TA Center
- Managing Bereavement and Loss as a Part of School and Higher Ed Emergency Preparedness Planning — From the REMS TA Center
- Managing Grief after Disaster — From the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs
- Mass Violence/Active Shooter Incidents: Family Assistance — From the Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange
- National Center for PTSD — From the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs
- Resources for the Victims of Recent Mass Violence Incidents — From the Office for Victims of Crime
- Response and Resiliency — From the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments
- Returning to School After an Emergency or Disaster: Tips to Help Your Students Cope — From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Safe Place: Trauma-Sensitive Practice for Health Centers Serving Higher Education Students — From the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments
- School Crisis Navigation Resources — From the National Center for School Safety
- Talking to and Supporting Young People after Violence — From the NTTAC for Child, Youth, & Family Mental Health
- The Impact of Disaster and Mass Violence Events on Mental Health — From the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs
- Trauma-Informed Approaches — From the IWGYP
- Trauma-Informed Care for Schools Before, During, and After Possible Emergency Events Webinar — From the REMS TA Center
- Understanding the Role of Community Engagement Specialists in Supporting School Safety Before, During, and After an Emergency Webinar — From the REMS TA Center
- Understanding Trauma and Its Impact — From the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments
- Online Clinical Trainings
- Media Guidelines for Homicide Family Survivors
- Rebuild your Community — For community leaders
- Self-Help — Resources for survivors
- Timeline of Activities to Promote Mental Health Recovery
- Transcend — iOS mobile app to assist with recovery after mass violence
- Unexpected Challenges for Communities In the Aftermath of a Mass Violence Incident
- Victim Service Professionals