AmeriCares has announced that it is awarding an additional $1 million to address the needs of disabled survivors of last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan and to help Japanese relief workers suffering from stress and depression.

The funding, which boosts to $4.2 million the amount AmeriCares has provided in relief assistance to the stricken region over the past twelve months, will be used to build a replacement group home for disabled survivors in Ofunato City, a fishing town in Iwate Prefecture, and headquarters for the only social service agency serving the disabled in northeastern Miyagi Prefecture. It will also provide counseling for relief workers grappling with stress, grief, and depression.

Last year, AmeriCares opened an office in Sendai to oversee its disaster relief efforts in the country. Those efforts have included providing affected communities with emergency supplies, hot meals, and counseling services for both adults and children who lost loved ones. In addition, the organization has built two dental clinics to replace facilities destroyed by the quake.

"One year later, the needs are still astounding," said AmeriCares president and CEO Curt Welling. "While some progress has been made on the physical recovery — clearing debris and wreckage from the streets — it will take years to fully recover and help survivors cope with the trauma of loss."