The LSU Health Department of Psychiatry provides essential training and treatment services through rural and urban parishes and responds to critical needs of the state following catastrophic events. First responders are the backbone of rescue and recovery from these events. Firefighters, EMTs, and law officers protect the general public often at a great personal cost. The Mental Health Support Hotline will provide first responders and other crisis support personnel with helpful counseling and behavioral health professional interventions. The Department of Psychiatry is well established to develop a significant response to address the impact of COVID-19 on multiple aspects of the behavioral health of our communities in Louisiana.