For another year, the Long Beach Police Department is partnering with the Trauma Intervention Program in a search for volunteers who can help people recover in the aftermath of traumatic events such as traffic accidents, crimes or deaths of family members.

The program will train volunteers for eight days throughout September where they will learn how to provide emotional support, including a comprehensive resource guide, bilingual service, teen peer support or comfort dogs, according to officials. Police say this partnership benefits the department, allowing officers to focus on the emergency, while TIP takes on emotional care.

Within the program, local volunteers are trained to respond to traumatic incidents within the city at the request of police, the fire department and hospital personnel “to provide emotional aid and practical support to victims of traumatic events and their families in the first few hours following a tragedy,” police said in a statement.

“The first few hours after a crisis situation has occurred are very confusing for everyone involved,” Wayne Fortin, program founder said in a statement. “TIP volunteers provide the necessary temporary support to survivors of tragedy until they are able to depend on family members, friends and others. This support is very important to survivors.”

No experience is necessary to become a volunteer, but attendance at a training academy is required, officials said. Training dates of the Training Academy can be found at www.TIPofLongBeach.org. For more information call 562-270-1246 or email [email protected].