Building and Maintaining Disaster Behavioral Health Resources in Minnesota

When Minnesotans face a disaster or emergency, local resources are always first to respond. When additional support is needed, the state has a variety of resources that can step in to provider additional support. Three state entities will describe how they work together to provide care and support to victims in these responses and for long-term recovery. They will also highlight some of the differences between behavioral health supports available in disasters and those available every day in Minnesota communities, and why those differences are important.

Learning objectives:

• Increase understanding of state-level resources and systems available to Minnesotans during disasters and emergencies, including how to access and activate them.
• Differentiate behavioral health responses required for mass violence incidents versus those used in mental health crisis events, with attention to unique stress reactions, community impacts, and response timelines.
• Apply best practices for interagency collaboration during disasters and emergencies, including communication strategies, role clarity, and coordinated decision-making.
• Identify the roles and responsibilities of behavioral health providers within the broader emergency management structure.
• Demonstrate familiarity with Psychological First Aid (PFA) intervention in disaster and mobile crisis settings.
  

Bios:

Tara Hjelmberg works in clinical policy at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Behavioral Health Administration with a focus on emergency preparedness. She is a certified FEMA/SAMHSA Crisis Counseling Program and Psychological First Aid Trainer. Prior to state service, her clinical career included serving youth and families in a variety of clinical settings including private practice, in-home and day treatment. The span of her 20+ year career had a significant focus on the impact of traumas on individuals and families. Tara has a MA in Counseling and Psychological Services and Post Master’s Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Nancy Carlson is the Behavioral Health Program Coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Health. She has over 30 years of experience in crisis and disaster behavioral health preparedness, response, and recovery at the community, county, state and national levels. In this position, she develops state-level preparedness response and recovery plans and administers a state-wide Behavioral Health Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). She has a BS in clinical psychology and a MPhil (everything but the PhD dissertation) in Human and Social Services, Disaster, Crisis and Intervention.

Dawn Shewmaker has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology and MA in Social Work. She worked as a correctional officer in North Dakota then moved to Oregon to work for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. During her almost 18 years with the federal government, she worked in victim services for the U.S. AirForce (Massachusetts), the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Alaska), and the National Guard (Minnesota). Dawn has lived in Minnesota since 2022 and has been with the Crime Victims Justice Unit since July 2025.