FI president assists Red Cross

Mark Skrade, PsyD, president of Springfield's Forest Institute at 2885 W. Battlefield Road, arrived Oct. 21 in New York to offer his services as a psychological counselor.

According to a news release from the Forest Institute, Skrade was asked by the local chapter of the American Red Cross to volunteer his time. He will receive training as a Red Cross disaster mental health counselor and will work with victims via Red Cross Mental Health Services.

Skrade will counsel rescue workers, victims' families and displaced workers. He also will provide mental health counseling for the 2,700 to 3,000 Red Cross workers in New York.

Skrade will volunteer in New York for two weeks. There, he will receive on-the-job training that he will use in a long-term collaboration with the Red Cross to train disaster mental health workers at Forest Institute.