Upcoming Events
October 7, 2005 |
Dear Families and Friends, Voices of September 11th offers our deepest sympathies to the victims of the terrorist attacks this past weekend in Bali. This attack, along with the recent threats on the New York City subway system, are a constant reminder of the need to remain vigilant in the face of terror. We remind you that VOICES has mental health professionals available to speak with Monday through Friday, should you feel a renewed sense of distress or concern from the current situation. VOICES offered a depression screening yesterday and had quite a positive response. In an effort to accommodate individual's schedules we will offer depression and anxiety screenings from Monday, October 17th through Friday, October 21st. This coming Wednesday, October 12th, VOICES will begin an evening teleconference group for siblings. Detailed information is listed in the Mental Health section below, along with a link to a list of existing teleconference and in-person support groups. Please let us know if you are interested in participating, but require another time. The LMDC is hosting a Memorial Museum workshop next week. I encourage family members to participate in the workshop to share your thoughts on what should be incorporated into the WTC Museum. Participating in the workshop is an important way to become involved and educated about the WTC Museum process. We hope you enjoyed receiving the special edition e-Newsletter summarizing VOICES' September 10th and 11th Information Forum and Luncheon. Some of you had troubling finding links to photos of the Forum and Luncheon, so please click to view photos of the Luncheon, Information Forum and Children's Program. As always feel free to contact our office if we can be of any assistance. Warm Regards,
Monday, October 17th - Friday, October 21st VOICES of September 11th Offers Free Anxiety and Depression Screenings Voices of September 11th will offer free, anonymous screenings over the telephone for people who think they may be suffering from anxiety or depression. Since September 11th, 9/11 Families, Survivors and Rescue Workers are reporting symptoms of depression, anxiety, panic attacks and post traumatic stress. The screenings will be held from Monday, October 17th through Friday, October 21st from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST. The screenings take approximately 15 minutes and are conducted by a mental health professional. Screenings are available to adults and adolescents who are at least 14 years of age. Parents of children ages 6 to 13 may call on behalf of their children. Callers will be asked to answer a series of questions. Based on their responses, the screener will provide a score and explain the results. Appointments may also be scheduled for a face-to-face screening at the Voices of September 11th office, 93 Cherry Street, New Canaan, CT. Information on anxiety and post traumatic stress will be sent upon request and referrals will be made. Contact the VOICES office at (203) 966-3911 or toll free at (866) 505-3911 for a free, anonymous anxiety screening. For more information on depression, please visit VOICES website.
VOICES Evening TELECONFERENCE GROUP FOR SIBLINGS to begin october 12th Based on the overwhelming success of support groups at VOICES Information Forum, VOICES will begin an evening teleconference support group for siblings. The group begins on Wednesday, October 12th, and will meet every other Wednesday evening from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. All those who are interested in participating can email dwestfal@voicesofsept11.org or call VOICES at 866-505-3911. The teleconference groups are facilitated by a mental health professional and provided at no cost to the participants. Prior registration is required. At this time, VOICES offers teleconference groups for Adult Children; Dads; Firefighter's Moms; Parents; Rescue and Recovery Workers; Survivor's and Witnesses; Siblings; and Wives. To see a complete schedule of the teleconference and in-person support groups offered by VOICES, please click here.
VOICES Director of Family Programs, Dr. Robin Goodman, recently offered her expertise in regards to the lasting psychological impact Hurricane Katrina is likely to have on its victims. An Associated Press article refers to Katrina’s “deep scars” on residents of the Gulf States. And in an interview on CBS’ The Early Show, Dr. Goodman discussed the kinds of psychological support that children in the hurricane stricken areas will need. She also provided some tips for parents elsewhere on how to deal with children's questions about the disaster.
Homeland Security Appropriations Bill
This week, Congress approved the Homeland Security Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2006 (H.R.2360), which now awaits the President's signature. A page offering the full text of the bill as well as its status is available here. The proposed HS Appropriations legislation increases the budget of the Department of Homeland Security to $31.9 billion, a gain of about 5 percent. Despite the overall increase, total grants to the states to support disaster first responders suffered a cut of nearly 17%, from nearly $4 billion last year to $3.3 billion. Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) issued a press release Monday criticizing the cut. According to Sen. Lieberman, “We should be beefing up our support for all of our response partners rather than leaving them in a position of having to do more with less.” About two-thirds of the grant money will be directed to state and local first responders according to the risk of terrorist attack or natural disaster. Though the ratio falls short of the recommendation by the 9/11 Commission that all monies be distributed according to risk analysis, the provision will significantly increase grants to states such as New York and California. In a recent Washington Post article, Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), the head of the Senate conferees on the bill commented: “Given fiscal constraints, we focused our limited resources on eliminating the most serious and detrimental vulnerabilities of our homeland security." Sen. Gregg cited preventing a terrorist attack with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, as well as improving border security as priorities for the Department of Homeland Security in the coming year. Much more information on the bill is available in an Empire (NY) Journal article published this week.
WTC Memorial Museum The International Freedom Center’s withdrawal from the WTC Memorial site has left the planned Cultural Building, designed by the Norwegian firm Snohetta, without a tenant. The possibility of altering the building’s design to integrate it with the planned Memorial Museum is outlined in a recent New York Times article. Another article from the New York Daily News describes plans for nearly 500,000 square feet of retail space around the WTC site—200,000 in the new PATH terminal, and 300,000 along Church Street. The retail areas will be set off from the Memorial Quadrant.
LMDC Sponsors WTC Museum Workshop on october 11th from 6:00 - 9:00 pm The LMDC has announced an opportunity for 9/11 Family members to participate in the process of creating the Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center. Next on the schedule is an interactive workshop that will offer attendees the ability to break into smaller groups and share and discuss their thoughts on the preliminary programming concepts for the Museum with the assistance of a facilitator. The workshop will take place on October 11th from 6:00 – 9:00 pm, at the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies at the Woolworth Building, 15 Barclay Street. All desiring to participate must do so by either registering on-line at either www.civic-alliance.org or www.renewnyc.com, or by contacting the Civic Alliance RSVP telephone line at 212-253-2727 x317.
Sunday, October 16, 2005: WTC Families for Proper Burial will hold a rally at the corner of Church and Liberty Streets at the WTC site. Participants will begin to gather at 1:30 pm, with the rally beginning at 2:00 pm. A dedication will be held for the Bell of the Unforgotten, a 2,000 pound bell created in memory of those for whom no remains have been recovered. After the dedication, each participant will toll the bell in honor of a lost loved one. Several members of the clergy will be attending in solidarity, showing the moral imperative of the proper burial of the dead and the importance of burial in all religious traditions. If there is a religious leader or a clergy member you would like to recommend to attend, please email WTC Families for Proper Burial. Monday, October 17, 2005: WTC Families for Proper Burial's court conference will take place at 2:00 pm at the Southern District Court, NYC, 500 Pearl Street. Only the judge and the attorneys will participate. There will be no statements made by family members, but your presence will go far in showing the large number of people who care about the burial of the dead and support this effort. The judge and the city need to see that support. Please write to WTC Families for Proper Burial for more information or to attend either of these events.
The Lindsay Morehouse Memorial College Scholarship The Lindsay Morehouse Memorial College Scholarship fund was established in 2004 by the parents of Lindsay Morehouse in memory of their daughter, who at the young age of twenty-four, lost her life in the World Trade Center tragedy of September 11th, 2001. Lindsay was working at Keefe, Bruyette and Woods, located on the 89th floor of the South Tower. Two weeks before her death, Lindsay was informed that she had been accepted into the Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City (BBBS) program to become a mentor to an at-risk youngster. In keeping with Lindsay’s wishes to reach-out and positively affect the lives of disadvantaged youth, her parents created the fund to support college-bound youngsters in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program who need financial assistance to pursue higher education. Last summer, BBBS, along with the Morehouse family, presented the initial scholarship awards to eight deserving high school graduates in the BBBS mentoring program. Each student will receive financial assistance from the Lindsay Morehouse Memorial College Scholarship Fund throughout the four years of their college education. The foundation is hoping to raise additional funds to help an even greater number of worthy inner city high school seniors attain the dream of higher education. To make a donation to the Lindsay Morehouse Memorial Scholarship fund, or to establish a similar scholarship fund in memory of a lost loved one, please contact Lilli Goldberg, LMSW from Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC at lgoldberg@bigsnyc.org or call her at (212) 686-2042 ext. 269.
Featured Memorial Event When: Monday, October 17, 2005; 1:00 pm shotgun start Join the family and friends of Danielle Kousoulis for golf and dinner to benefit the Danielle Kousoulis Memorial Scholarship fund. Please click here to send us information on your memorial or foundation event. The information will be posted on the VOICES website and included in the newsletters. |
