Mission Statement

H.E.A.R.T.'s mission through acute crisis intervention, long-term counseling and pro-active pre-crisis education and training, is to enable children to recover from post-crisis related psychological trauma stemming from acts of school violence, disasters or from terrorism.

Fires:        Floods

Fires: With one house fire occurring each day in Allegheny County, an average of 1095 children suffer some degree of psychological trauma.

Floods: During the September 2004 floods, the homes of 4,218 children in Allegheny County alone were damaged or destroyed. These children lost their world - everything that was familiar and safe.

Research has shown...

Christopher Picture
  • Every child exposed to a traumatic event will suffer some degree of anxiety, depression or adjustment disorder.
  • Longevity of symptoms is lessened when the child receives .supportive counseling as soon after the event as possible

H.E.A.R.T. will act as a first responder:

Providing HOPE ..

Hope...Empowerment...Action...Resources...Training

Hope
  • Acknowledge feelings are valid
  • How to handle being a victim
  • Coach children on how to accept sympathy
  • Provide tools to move from victim to survivor
Empowerment
  • First Responders
  • Immediate assessment
  • Offer hope through counseling
  • Affordable resources & education
  • No waiting list
Action
  • Respond to needs of every child
  • Enable recovery to begin
  • Training & education programs
Resources
  • Multi media presentation
  • Animation
  • School assembly
  • Videos
  • Testimonials
  • Handouts
  • Instructional workbooks
  • Counseling services
Training
  • Pre-crisis education
  • Preparedness programs
  • Development of coping skills

H.E.A.R.T.'s Multi-Dimensional Approach:

To accomplish its mission, H.E.A.R.T. will provide:

  1. Pre-incident education via assembly programs for students grades K-12
  2. Post-incident counseling and psychological support.

H.E.A.R.T.'s Pre-incident education:

H.E.A.R.T will provide age appropriate educational assembly programs to teach children coping skills to deal with the psychological effects from disasters, school violence, and acts of terrorism.

H.E.A.R.T. will produce and distribute age- appropriate books, workbooks and videos instructing children ages 5 through 17.

H.E.A.R.T. Post-incident counseling support:

Children suffering from psychological trauma will be referred to H.E.A.R.T. through in-field first responders, school counselors and teachers.

Counseling will be administered through:

  1. One-on-one counseling; and
  2. Group counseling.