Concentration:
Direct Loss Families
Area served:
Nassau County
Relief Fund Area of Focus: Mental Health Services
Amount of Relief Fund Grant:
$1,340,000
Executive Director:
Thomas Demaria, Ph.D.
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With more than 300 families experiencing a direct loss, Nassau County on Long Island was devastated by the attack on the World Trade Center. Of the 343 members of the New York City Fire Department killed, 215 lived in Nassau and neighboring Suffolk. To meet the needs of these grieving families, the South Nassau Communities Hospital started its World Trade Center Trauma and Bereavement Program (WTC Program).
Over the three years, the WTC Program has served 250 families, including nearly 300 children and 500 adults. Specially trained mental health professionals provide a range of crisis counseling and educational services that are helping these devastated families rebuild their lives. The program also offers the opportunity for families to connect with others experiencing similar loss. The WTC Program was initially funded primarily by Project Liberty. When the funding expired in December 2003, a Relief Fund grant of $670,000 was awarded, enabling South Nassau to continue the program and expand it as new families came for help.
Each week, the program conducts 15 different group therapy sessions for adults and children, covering a wide range of needs, as well as intensive workshops and events designed to teach coping and resilience building skills. Parenting groups help single mothers cope with the changing needs of their still grieving children. Young children come to the family center for play and art therapy sessions that allow them to express their feelings, and peer support activities help teenage boys who are struggling with feelings of loss and grief. An April 2004 Relief Fund grant of $670,000 will allow WTC to provide its critically needed services through December 2005.
See All Relief Fund Recipients
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