NORWICH – The extensive damage caused by recent flooding was immediately calculated in terms of money lost and structures destroyed. What is often left out, county health officials said, is the intangible mental anguish and emotional response victims may have now that the water has receded and the process of recovery is underway.

“We really need to try and get the services out there,” said County Mental Hygiene Director Mary Ann Spryn. “Basically we’re going to try and help people deal with what they are dealing with, and their reactions to what is happening.”

Spryn detailed a grant proposal from the state Office of Mental Health called “Project Recovery,” that would issue funding for the county to hire six individuals to provide crisis counseling, hold informational sessions, and work with victims of the flooding to help them cope with their situation.

The County Health and Human Services Committee carried a motion Tuesday to expedite the project’s approval directly to County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard Decker. The grant proposal is also being looked at by county attorney Richard W. Breslin.

The application for the grant was filed back on July 17, just before the state’s deadline set 14 days after the county was declared a disaster area.