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TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that the Florida Crisis Response Team (FCRT) is on standby and available to assist communities that may suffer storm damage this week. The FCRT, overseen by the Attorney General's Statewide Crisis Response Coordinator, Cheryl Ricciardi, provides emotional support and advocacy, training and planning for communities in the aftermath of hurricanes and other disasters. Currently the team is prepared to assist the Brevard County Department of Health in emergency shelter operations and has team members in place throughout the state to deploy as needed.

“In the aftermath of a destructive storm, ensuring that all affected residents are able to regain a sense of normalcy as soon as possible is critically important,” said Attorney General McCollum. “This is a charge members of the Florida Crisis Response Team take very seriously, and I’m proud of their service and commitment.”

The FCRT is comprised of more than 800 crisis responders statewide, including victim service professionals from the Attorney General’s Office, law enforcement personnel, firefighters, clergy, mental health professionals, nurses, and community members. Team members are culturally diverse and multilingual, enabling them to assist all communities that might be impacted in a disaster.

Earlier this year, members of the FCRT provided direct assistance to families and communities impacted by the wildfires that heavily damaged parts of Brevard and Volusia Counties. Team members accompanied many people as they returned to their homes for the first time to view damage, and subsequently went door-to-door in some of the hardest hit areas to provide crisis intervention and support to residents.
The FCRT could potentially be called to provide services to a geographic community, such as was required after the wildfires, or a specific community like that of a school, hospital, law enforcement agency, county Emergency Operations Center (EOC) or special needs shelter. The team may also provide assistance to community leaders in planning short- and long- term activities in response to a disaster, provide crisis intervention training to local caregivers, and provide group crisis intervention sessions for other personnel involved in disaster response.

The FCRT may either be activated by the state or at the request of an individual community. Community leaders may request assistance by contacting the Statewide Crisis Response Coordinator directly at 407-473-0719 or by contacting their local EOC.