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How have you changed since September 11th? Have you changed your daily routine? Your feelings about being a New Yorker? Have your your politics changed? Your relationships with family? Friends? Colleagues? 
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 Vince
Graceffo and Bill Procejus, at right and left respectively, get
together at Fox Hound pub in Battery Park City. "We watched people suffer…and to watch them helplessly and not being able to do anything…it’s just…it messed me up, big time. It still messes me up," recalls Vince. A boat captain, Vince helped found "Chefs with Spirit," the respite ship that served 400,000 meals to rescue workers in the first three weeks after September 11th. (Photo by Julie Hantman)  Lieutenant
Rob Kirwan, of Engine 16 & Ladder 7, and the other firefighters
of New York City work hard to make the firehouse a supportive atmosphere.
Lt.Kirwan looks back on the past six months. "I hate that word
closure—there's just no ending. We're trying to take care
of the widows, and the mothers, and the children, and trying to take
care of ourselves at the same time. It's very hard. I handle it by
coming to work and keeping busy. Because when I'm home and when I'm
alone, that's when I start to thinking about it."  Natalie
Luna and her father Officer Mauro Luna carry on with their daily
lives. Natalie reflects on the way September 11th changed her outlook.
"You have to remember September 11th and you have to remember all the things that happened. No one really knows why it happened, like, I don't know. You know why it happens but no one really understands it. Like, why would anyone want to do that to you, you know, or to people in general? That's horrible. You should look at it that way and remember that. But then you should use that as a way to sort of push you to do the things that you always wanted to do, that maybe you thought, 'Oh, I shouldn't do it, because I'm scared or something,' you know? Everyone has a certain thing: let's say you've never been scuba diving or something and you were always scared to do it—go ahead and do it, you know! ‘Cause you never know if tomorrow you’ll be here. So it’s cool!" (Photo by Julie Hantman) |
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Resources FOR KIDS Everything After: A 9/11 Youth Circle Global Kids, Inc. is spearheading an online collaboration between PBS.org, YouthNOISE and others. Each youth circle explores life after September 11th: What has changed? What has stayed the same? What does it mean now to be an American? The youth will offer each other new perspectives, emotional support and a chance to compare their experiences with peers from around the country. Mt. Sinai Hospital Project CATCH is a real resource for kids' trauma counseling at Mt Sinai. They have a variety of other counseling as well. 
The Ground Zero Community Initiative
A project of the International Trauma Studies Program at NYU working to support collaborations between parents, teachers, school staff and children to assess the most pressing needs of the downtown school community and to develop a comprehensive agenda for recovery. (Photo by Martha Cooper, from "Missing") Dealing With Tragedy (Channel 13) Tips and resources for teachers and parents to help you cope with the effects of the September 11th. Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services Mental health counseling for adults and children. Initial consultation is free of charge for victims of the WTC attack and their families. Contact Myra Shendell at 212-399-2320, ext. 211. FOR ADULTS  Project Liberty
A disaster recovery program created to provide support to you, your family, your neighbors, your employees and your spiritual community. Through Project Liberty, free counseling services are available to anyone affected by the attacks of September 11th in the metropolitan New York City region. If you would like mental health professionals to come to your organization, classroom or home, contact, (800) LIFENET (543-3638). New York State Crime Victims Board Reimbursement of medical bills for those injured in the WTC attack. Can provide reimbursement of mental health counseling and transportation costs for traveling to and from medical appointments and burial expenses. Contact: (800) 247-8035. American Red Cross Greater New York Chapter Provides spiritual as well as mental health counseling. Contact: (212) 291-6200 or (877) 746-4987 Outside Manhattan. New York City Department of Health Information on air quality, bioterrorism, worker safety, resources for professional healthcare providers, and other DOH press releases. FOR SPANISH SPEAKERS Al Sofa Informacion de salud Mental. Mental Health site for Spanish Speakers. Safe Horizon This website offers a bilingual option. Provides support groups for victims dealing with trauma issues as well as bereavement. Contact: 1-866-689-HELP IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL WHO WANTS TO HELP National Institute of Mental Health Information on events, funding and breaking news for practitioners, researchers. TraumaResponse.org The 9/11 Trauma Response Database is a centralized, comprehensive practitioner database organized to help with ongoing disaster relief. At this site you can both register in their database to be a provider of clinical services as well as search the database for clinicians based on the particular service need(s) you are trying to meet. International Trauma Studies Program at NYU ITSP offers a dynamic combination of academic studies, research and practical experience working with trauma survivors in New York City, the U.S. and abroad. Check out their ITSP Disaster Response Workshop Series. National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder offers information and resources regarding trauma exposure and post traumatic stress disorder, including diagnosis, assessment, and treatment modalities and effectiveness. |
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Alternative Healing Practices Alternative Health News Online Alternative, complementary and preventive health news pages on the Internet, compiled by national journalists. YOGA Yogafinder.com Established in 1997 and possibly the largest directory of yoga classes/studios online. Yoga Site An eclectic collection of articles, teachers, events, questions and answers.  International
Association of Yoga Therapists Since its establishment, IAYT has consistently championed the cause of Yoga through annual conferences, an annual journal, and a newsletter. In particular, IAYT has served well the growing number of Yoga teachers, especially those who use Yoga therapeutically. MEDITATION The Zen Center of New York For those who are seriously interested in practicing Zen. THERAPEUTIC TOUCH The Healing Touch Project A project of the Olive Leaf Wholeness Center is planning to provide touch therapy in coordination with a number of sites offering mental health services to those affected by the WTC disaster. Services are planned to be operational by 4/1/02. Project Touch is an outgrowth of the volunteer touch services provided to families and rescue workers at Pier 94, the family assistance center and the staff at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Project Touch will be located at Olive Leaf Wholeness Center, 145 East 23rd Street. Contact: 212-253-3301 (website is under construction) ARTS The American Art Therapy Association The latest news and resource links for practitioners and the public. |
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Three short vignettes evoke the
ongoing struggles experienced by individuals who are among those most
directly affected by September 11th: a former Aon employee who evacuated
the World Trade Center; two Battery Park City residents who witnessed
the attack up close; and a young widow whose husband was at a meeting
in the World Trade Center. The vignettes are followed by comments
from a trauma counselor. 
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Portrait of a Firehouse
Reporter Beth Fertig provides an intimate look at how firefighters in a Gramercy Park firehouse are bonding and coping six months later. We witness the emotional and cognitive aftermath and learn about the informal ways they seek to support one another and also help the bereaved families of firefighters who were lost.
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Roundtable: "Collective Response to Disaster" This roundtable highlights the collective efforts at healing undertaken by two institutions that were located in the ground zero area: Lehman Brothers (represented by Ms. Kyle Maldiner, SVP) and the elementary school P.S. 234 (consulting school psychologist Dr. Bruce Arnold). Guided by host John Rudolph and international trauma expert Dr. Claude Chemtob, the guests discuss how they rebuilt a sense of safety and security even as the institutions were physically displaced from their sites.
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| Young People React to September 11th Queens teenager Natalie Luna and her friends Sharmina Ahmed and Gerard Pietrafesa didn’t lose anyone close to them. But as Producer Julie Hantman found out, the disaster led to separation anxiety and an array of other personal challenges for kids which they are still sorting out.
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| Should
I Stay or Should I Go? Dean Olsher, lower Manhattan resident and host of the WNYC program "The Next Big Thing," reflects on safety and on the theme of transformation – of both self and city.
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Funding is
provided by the Carnegie Corporation andÊthe Overbrook Foundation.
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(Photo Credits: Vanessa Bertozzi, except otherwise noted)
© WNYC 2002