Support Resources

Disaster Assistance

Contact Us

To assist faculty and staff in preparing for and responding to disasters we have gathered the below resources and information. Find out more by calling our office at 703.993.2600 or by sending a message on the Contact Us page.

Preparing for a Disaster

When possible we encourage employees to create a plan to respond to possible disasters in their geographic area.

  • Know what disasters and hazards could affect your area, how to get emergency alerts, and where you would go if you and your family need to evacuate.  Make sure your family has a plan and practices it often.
  • Download the FEMA App to get preparedness strategies, real-time weather and emergency alerts.
  • Get Mason Ready by exploring the information and resources available to prepare yourself, colleagues, students, and office for an emergency at George Mason University.

Responding to a Disaster

These resources for responding to disaster can help employees in affected areas:

  • Disaster Assistance.gov details the kinds of assistance available and reduces the number of forms to file to receive assistance.
  • State Offices and Agencies of Emergency Management - direct contact information for emergency management offices in your state.
  • Benefitted employees have the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) as part of their benefits package. Your EAP can assist you on a range of topics and they are available 24 hours a day to help you find the resources you need.  With any situation, the first four visits are covered and are at no cost to you.
  • The SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline is a national hotline dedicated to providing year-round immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. This toll-free, multilingual, and confidential crisis support service is available to all residents in the United States and its territories. Stress, anxiety, and other depression-like symptoms are common reactions after a disaster. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
  • Review this Bright Horizons resource on helping children cope with trauma for information that provides tips for how to talk to children struggling to understand what happened to their home or community.

In the Event of Death

In the event of a death of a family member or a Mason employee, please visit our In the Event of Death page for more information.