With the holidays approaching, VOICES will host a drop-in teleconference group for family members, survivors and rescue workers. The group is facilitated by a mental health professional and is intended to provide an opportunity for individuals to discuss their concerns with others who may be experiencing a difficult time during this holiday season. Additional information is included in the Mental Health section below.

We are fortunate to be enjoying beautiful weather here in the Northeast. As the leaves begin to fall, we would like to share this quote with you:

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." - John Muir

As always, feel free to contact our office if we can be of any assistance to you.

Warm Regards,

When: Sunday, November 6th, 2005
Where: New York, NY
Contact: Visit the website for more information on sponsorship opportunities

Come out to cheer for Bryan as he runs his sixth marathon in memory of his father, Ira Zaslow. Please visit the website for information on how to make a donation to benefit the Ira Zaslow Foundation.

Join the friends and family of Joey Doyle to celebrate a football Sunday together in memory of Joey. All proceeds benefit the Joseph Doyle 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 upcoming e-Newsletters.

Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the British Throne, visited the WTC site on Tuesday with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Charles and Camilla dedicated a memorial park at Hanover Square to the 67 British Citizens who died in the attacks, while paying their respects at Ground Zero. At the reception following the dedication of the memorial, Charles noted the outpouring of American support after the July 7 London Transit bombings, which killed 56 people. "Both our nations have been united by grief and strengthened by the support we have given each other," Charles is quoted in an article from the Bergen Record which offers more details of the royal visit.

Peter Walker, the landscape architect working with Michael Arad on the World Trade Center Memorial, will chat live with visitors on the WTC Memorial Foundation website next Tuesday, November 8th at 12:00 pm EST. Mr. Walker will answer questions on topics ranging from his approach to the landscape design to the tree selection process for the Memorial to your specific landscape challenges. Simply go to the Foundation’s homepage and click on the chat link to the hour-long discussion. For a biography of Peter Walker with descriptions of his past projects, please click here. For more information, please see a press release from the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation.

The National Institute of Safety and Technology (NIST) released their final report on the Twin Towers collapse last week. The report, which totals over 10,000 pages, is available in an executive summary on the NIST website. Some members of Congress and safety advocates criticized the report for lacking concrete recommendations for future buildings and for failing to strike a balance between safety and cost concerns. Click here to read testimony given before Congress by Sally Regenhard of the Skyscraper Safety Campaign. NIST has promised to work towards integrating the recommendations into building codes, and offers some of their ideas in their most recent "Tech Beat" newsletter.

The holidays are often a hectic time but there can be added stress for those affected by 9/11. To help you cope and share your thoughts and feelings, VOICES has scheduled a drop in teleconference group on Friday November 18 from 12:00 -1:00 pm EST. The teleconference group will be facilitated by VOICES mental health professional Judy Stotz, LPC. The group is open to any family members, witnesses, and survivors. Prior registration is required by calling the VOICES office at (203) 966-3911 or toll-free at (866) 505-3911. If you would like to participate but are unavailable at this time, please contact dwestfal@voicesofsept11.org. Additional call in times will be scheduled.

A new brochure from the U.S. Department of Education offers advice to parents, teachers, principals, coaches and others for dealing with students' disaster-related trauma. To read the brochure in a PDF file please visit click here or call (877) 4ED-PUBS to request a copy.

The National Center for Victims of Crime is seeking proposals from schools and community-based programs to become project sites in Youth Building Resilience Post 9/11, a program designed to build the resilience of those New Jersey youth who were most directly exposed to and affected by the attacks of September 11, 2001...More

SAVE THE DATE
9/11 Public Discourse Project to present Foreign Policy Report Card

Who: 9/11 Public Discourse Project (the former 9/11 Commissioners)
What: Report card on government reform based on the Commission's recommendations in
the areas of foreign policy, public diplomacy, and nonproliferation.
When: Monday, November 14, 10:00 am
Where: 6th floor auditorium at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in Washington, DC
More Information: Please click here to view a press release from the 9/11 PDP

The issue of state preparedness has loomed large in the New Jersey Governor’s race between Senator Jon Corzine (D) and Doug Forrester (R). Earlier this year, New Jersey released “Plain Talk about Preparedness”, an informative and easy to use guide to personal and family preparedness. Though produced for New Jersey residents, “Plain Talk” is a valuable resource for all Americans to augment their preparedness measures.

This week U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said personal preparedness is more than a good idea, it’s a civic virtue as well. In reference to recent natural disasters, Sec. Chertoff said in an interview with the Associated Press: "We're all dependent on everybody else. Everybody has their role to play, and if people fail in their role, it's going to have a cascading effect."

The drive for interoperable, reliable first responder communications took a step forward last week. The House and Senate both passed budget measures with final deadlines for the transfer of analog TV spectrum to emergency use. "It was apparent after 9/11 that first responders were greatly hampered by the inability to communicate with one another," Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX) said in a Lewisville (TX) Leader article. Broadcasters will retain the spectrum until the end of 2008, while the Senate bill allows them to keep the spectrum until April, 2009. After these dates, TV will switch to all-digital, high definition broadcasting. Some of the analog spectrum in the 700 MHZ range would be dedicated to first responder communications and the rest would be auctioned. The Senate version devotes $1 billion of the proceeds from the auction to improving emergency communications equipment.

Some Senators have expressed concern that the more restrictive deadline proposed by the House would not allow enough time for the spectrum auction and for analog TV users to purchase a box to convert the digital signal. However, three years is “more than enough time for manufacturers and retailers to move low-cost digital televisions and converter-boxes into the market, for the FCC to complete the channel-allocation process, for broadcasters to finalize their digital facilities, and for government and industry to prepare consumers for the transition,” House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) is quoted in a Mobile Radio Technology Magazine article. A proposal by Sen. John McCain that the Senate move up its deadline to 2008 was defeated by the Senate 69-30 this week. VOICES will keep you updated on the House-Senate conference of this vitally important preparedness issue.