Dear Families and Friends,

We have been very busy preparing for the upcoming September 10th Information Forum and September 11th Commemorative Luncheon at the Marriott Financial Center in New York City. VOICES is finalizing the panel discussions that will be offered at the Information Forum on September 10th. We plan to offer an expanded range of information panels this year to meet the requests of our families. We would greatly appreciate your feedback on possible topics to be discussed. Please take a brief survey here.

The VOICES Commemorative Luncheon will follow the September 11th Commemorative Events. Although the details of the events at Ground Zero have not been announced, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office has held meetings to plan the ceremony. The program will likely include a reading of the victims’ names by family members. We will keep you informed as details become available.

I encourage all of you to join us and take advantage of this opportunity to gather with fellow family members, reflect and share your strength. Invitations for the event have been mailed. Reservations are due by August 19th. If you have not received an invitation and would like to attend, please email your name, address, and telephone number to dwestfal@voicesofsept11.org or contact our office at (866) 505-3911 or (203) 966-3911.

VOICES continued our advocacy work in Washington, DC this week. On Monday we attended the 9/11 Public Discourse Project panel on Civil Liberties and Security. Please read the summary below of the very lively debate. We continue to meet with Congressional offices to advocate for homeland security and counter-terrorism reforms. Pictured above are VOICES Board Members Frank and Mary Fetchet with Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

Thanks to all of you who posted messages to the families affected by the London bombings. Please continue to add messages to our bulletin board.

Finally, recent media coverage has brought much attention to the Memorial plan for Ground Zero. VOICES of September 11th has joined thirteen other family groups in calling for the removal of the International Freedom Center and the Drawing Center from the Memorial site. We believe the Memorial should be allowed to speak for itself, and that the unrelated institutions are inappropriate for sacred ground of the 9/11 Memorial site. Below is more information on this divisive issue, as well as an update on the memorial planned for the Pentagon.

We hope you are enjoying your summer and look forward to seeing you on September 10th and 11th in New York City. As always, feel free to contact our office with any questions.

Warm Regards,

New Telephone Support Group for Rescue and Recovery Workers

Voices of September 11th is beginning a new telephone support group for rescue and recovery workers who worked at Ground Zero. The group will meet by phone at 10:00 am EST on Wednesday, July 27th, and will continue to meet every other Wednesday at the same time. There is no charge for the group and the phone call is toll-free. Those who would like to participate will need to register by calling VOICES office toll-free at (866) 505-3911. All VOICES teleconference groups are facilitated by a licensed mental health professional.

Pentagon Memorial

The Pentagon memorial is progressing in a timely and respectful manner. The design for the Pentagon memorial has already been selected and construction is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2006. Rosemary Dillard, VP of the Pentagon Memorial Fund said donors have been extremely generous, with $7.2 million raised to date. Ms. Dillard reports that the Pentagon has been very supportive of the memorial, which will be built entirely with private funds. “We all know we only have one time to do this memorial, and we have to do it right,” Ms. Dillard said. “It’s really wonderful.” Please visit the Pentagon Memorial website for more pictures and information. To make a donation, visit the Pentagon Memorial Fund.

The memorial consists of a Memorial Park inscribed with 184 Memorial Units—one for each of the victims inside the Pentagon and on board American Airlines Flight 77. The individual memorial unit is at once a glowing light pool, a cantilevered bench and a place for the permanent inscription of each victim’s name. The park is organized as a timeline of the victims’ ages, spanning from Dana Falkenberg, 3 years old, to John D. Yamnicky, age 71. Fifty-nine memorial units face one direction, 125 face the other – thus distinguishing victims on board AA Flight 77 from those who were inside the Pentagon. When visiting a memorial dedicated to a victim who was in the Pentagon, the visitor will see their engraved name and the Pentagon in the same view. Conversely, one would see the engraved name of a victim on Flight 77 with the sky.

World Trade Center Memorial

VOICES is one of fourteen 9/11 Family Groups that formed “Take Back the Memorial” to press for a respectful memorial at Ground Zero without the influence of unrelated cultural organizations. Recent media coverage, especially a series of editorials in New York Papers last week, has brought much attention to the plan, or lack thereof, for rebuilding at the former Ground Zero site. This debate will hopefully force our decision makers into long-overdue action. Along with other family groups we will remain steadfast to ensure an appropriate memorial that honors our loved ones.

Judy Stotz, LPC
VOICES Mental Health Staff

Judy Stotz, one of the members of the VOICES mental health staff, holds a masters degree in counseling from Fairfield University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor and is a member of the Connecticut Counseling Association and Chi Sigma Iota, an international honorary society for counselors. Judy works in the VOICES office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. On these days she facilitates teleconference groups for siblings, witnesses and survivors, dads, adult children and parents. In addition to the teleconference groups Judy provides individual phone support and free anxiety and depression screenings at the VOICES office. Judy works along with VOICES Mental Health Professionals Andrea Berry, LCSW and Dr. Robin Goodman. To speak with Judy or any of the VOICES Mental Health staff, call (866) 505-3911.