> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # If Santa Monica has a crisis, a team will be there - URL: https://www.smdp.com/if-santa-monica-has-a-crisis-a-team-will-be-there/ - Published: 2002-03-30T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T00:12:07.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Events, Pier, #archive-import *SMPD will have on-the-scene crisis team to help witnesses, victims* When hundreds of people were trapped two years ago on the pier during a shoot-out and hostage negotiation, some survivors were traumatized for months afterwards. That’s partly because they didn’t have any way to help them work through what they saw. That won’t be the case anymore in Santa Monica. For the first time in its history, the Santa Monica Police Department has contracted with a crisis response program to give witnesses and survivors of traumatic events a place to turn for help. The Maple Counseling Center Crisis Response Team will begin assisting police in helping residents deal with incidents like homicides, fires, natural disasters, auto fatalities, suicide or the sudden death of a family member or co-worker. Santa Monica officers will offer the victims access to a trained counselor at the scene, said Anne Kellogg, the clinical coordinator for the Maple Counseling Center. Trained volunteers provide free, on-scene support, information and referrals for trauma survivors by being available right after an incident occurs. There are 28 volunteers that team up and are on call around the clock. Once officers call the team, they’ll usually show up within 20 minutes, if they haven’t already been waiting nearby. “We’ll be there for the families and relieve some of the pressure for them,” Kellogg said. “We’ll go to the hospital and wait for the patient’s disposition. We will be there when (someone) is dead or paralyzed.” Kellogg said she first got involved in the program after she was unable to save two boys who drowned in a lake in Northern California while she was camping with a friend. 35E,“I was driving back and I didn’t know who to talk to,” she said, adding she walked into a Santa Monica fire station and was referred to the Maple Counseling Center. Kellogg said the program is particularly helpful for children who witness horrifying scenes — like a recent suicide in which the father shot himself in the head with his wife and 3-year-old daughter watching. “The daughter and mother were horrifically traumatized,” she said. “(The daughter) needed to say what happened and to talk about it.” Counselors were on scene for another incident in which a 2-year-old drowned in a pool. The parents both thought the other was looking after the child but neither were. Their 8-year-old found the child in the pool. Not only were the parents grieving, but their other child needed attention they couldn’t give her because of their own grief, Kellogg said. Counselors will tell victims what they can expect immediately after the shock wears off, as well what to do in the interim and several months after the incident. “We basically help them activate their resources,” Kellogg said. “Something has happened that was out of their control and that’s hard to grasp so we usually tell them what to expect in the next few days... things like the ‘thousand-mile stare’ that many people get after a traumatic event.” Kellogg also said it may take a month before a survivor realizes he or she needs help. That’s why counselors will give them information on agencies available to them. “They can reacquaint themselves with resources that they may have forgotten about,” she said. Maple Counseling Center teams respond to calls from the police, fire and sheriff’s departments in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Marina del Ray, Malibu — and now Santa Monica. Kellogg approached SMPD to part be of the program. After review by the department’s commanding officers, Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. signed off on the program. “This is the first time we have ever had this type of service,” said SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega. “It’s a great program and we look forward to joining.” > “This is the first time we have ever had this type of service. It’s a great program and we look forward to joining.” — — LT. FRANK FABREGA Santa Monica Police Department Kellogg said it takes a lot for officers to shift their mind set from following the procedures at a crime scene to addressing the emotional needs of the witnesses. But she hopes the crisis team becomes part of the procedures in the future. “It takes a lot to allow strangers to come into a crime scene,” she said. “Our reputation in law enforcement is growing and I’m hoping that with Santa Monica we’ll part of the dispatch (to the scene).” Maple Counseling Center is offering free training for those who want to volunteer. Classes begin on April 4 and will run every Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for nine consecutive weeks. The first six weeks of training are open to all members of the community and will feature guest speakers from police, fire, sheriff’s departments, the FBI, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, as well as referral agencies. Candidates eligible to join the crisis response team will attend three weeks of advanced trainings in May. Then candidates must pass a written exam, performance evaluations and a security screening. For more information or to apply, log onto www.tmcc.org or contact Kellogg at (310) 271-9999, ext. 228. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/033002-05_01.jpg) Wahoo’s Fish Taco is coming to Wilshire Boulevard, between Fourth and Fifth Streets. (Photo: Andrew H. Fixmer/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 30, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/033002.pdf?ref=smdp.com)