Okaloosa's trauma response team closes its doors

Samantha Torgeson of Okaloosa's Trauma Intervention Program says they only have five volunteers, all in North Okaloosa County, which leads to response times of more than a hour, in some cases.

A group that supported Okaloosa County tragedy survivors since 1995 has suspended services indefinitely.

Trauma Intervention Programs Inc.'s Okaloosa branch was forced to shut its doors due to lack of volunteers.

Samantha Torgerson, the county's TIP crisis team manager, said right now there are only five volunteers, mostly based in North Okaloosa. The numbers, especially in the last couple of months, meant that a TIP volunteer might not be able to get to a call for an hour or more because of the distance.

TIP volunteers operated phone lines during hurricanes, supported fire victims or survivors of tragic deaths and responded to any number of scenes with emergency responders.

Okaloosa County TIP is funded completely through donations and volunteers. Santa Rosa County TIP and Escambia County TIP should not be affected. Walton County does not have a TIP program.

The Okaloosa County chapter could be resurrected, but at least 10 strong volunteers are needed, Torgerson said.

See http://www.tip-ser.org for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa's trauma response team closes its doors