I. The Need

Children do not receive the support they need immediately following tragic events. The reasons include: Parents are unable to provide support because they are physically or emotionally injured; parents are taken into custody by law enforcement; children don’t express their need for assistance; and emergency responders are preoccupied with the emergency situation.

II. When TIP Volunteers Assist Children (Examples of Actual Calls)

• Upon returning from school a child discovers his father hanging in the garage.
• Three small children are emotionally traumatized in a hospital emergency room after an auto accident in which their mother is killed.
• Four children are left alone when their parents are taken into custody after a drug raid.
• Two children witness a third child killed by a speeding Amtrak train.
• Fifteen children witness a man intentionally drive into their day care center killing two.
• An 8-year old child discovers his father died of a drug overdose.
• Thirty children witness a child crushed by a park bench at a YMCA park.

III. TIP Assistance (Examples)

• Provide emotional comfort and support.
• Protect from on scene dangers (traffic, gruesome sights . . .)
• Provide with “comfort bears,” coloring books, and other comforting and reassuring materials.
• Explain emergency procedures in simple terms.
• Reassure traumatized parent(s) that their children are being cared for.
• Educate parents(s) and provide written materials about how to deal with children after a tragic event.
• Arrange for follow up counseling services for children.
• Provide on scene support to children by TIPTeens when appropriate