June 19, 2015
Dear Families and Friends,

 

We are pleased to announce two important projects we are undertaking as part of our work to expand VOICES Resilience Center.


VOICES was recently awarded a 14-month grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop curriculum and training that will assist communities in preparing for and responding to acts of terrorism, mass violence and natural disasters. 


 
This initiative will incorporate the organization's lessons learned from 13 years of experience in providing support services to victims' families, responders and survivors as well as other research projects VOICES has conducted in documenting the response of organizations and communities following other tragedies. 

 

In addition, on June 1, we launched a ground-breaking research project that will evaluate the long-term needs of family members who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, and in the bombing of Air India Flight 182 that crashed off the coast of Ireland in 1985.  The study is entitled "Investigating the Long-Term Impact of Bereavement Due to Terrorism: Factors That Contribute to Trauma, Grief, Growth and Resilience."  The research is being conducted in partnership with the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress in Bethesda, Maryland and the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime in Ottawa, Ontario. 

 

9/11 and Air India Families have been sent an invitation to participate in the study via email and in the mail.  The research project will investigate the long-term psychological consequences of terrorism and the factors that contribute to trauma and grief, as well as personal growth and resilience.  The personal insights of family members who suffered the loss of a loved one will provide a better understanding of the unique, ongoing needs of victims' families. 

 

We would like as many 9/11 family members over the age of 18 to participate, so please share the information with extended family members who may be interested in the project.  For more information on how to participate, visit our website, or contact me at 203-966-3911 or by email at mafetchet@voicesofsept11.org.

 

As the news of this week's church shootings in Charleston, SC demonstrate, not a week goes by without a tragic incident taking place in communities around the world.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members of those so tragically lost, the Emanuel AME Church Community, and the city of Charleston.  

 

Warm Regards,


Mary Fetchet & the VOICES Staff

P.S.  We have included more information about the two initiatives below.

 


Announcing VOICES New Research Project

Investigating the Long-Term Impact of Bereavement Due to Terrorism:

Factors that Contribute to Trauma, Grief, Growth and Resilience

 


Empty Sky Memorial

Air India Flight 182 Memorial

 

 

On June 1, 2015, VOICES launched a new research project in partnership with the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) at the Unformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland and the Canadian Resource Center for Victims of Crime (CRCVC) in Ottawa, Ontario.  The study, entitled "Investigating the Long-Term Impact of Bereavement Due to Terrorism:  Factors That Contribute to Trauma, Grief, Growth and Resilience," has been funded in part by Public Safety Canada's Kanishka Project Contribution Program. Stephen J. Cozza, M.D., Associate Director of the CSTS, will serve as the Principal Investigator.  Dr. Cozza has conducted extensive research and published in the area of bereavement.

                      

The study will identify the long-term needs of individuals impacted by terrorism.  The research project involves family members of the 2,977 individuals lost at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, PA on September 11, 2001, as well as the family members of the 320 individuals lost in the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the West Coast of Ireland, the majority of whom were Canadian.  Both attacks remain the worst acts of terrorism in the history of their respective countries, the United States and Canada.

 

To date, there is limited research that has examined or identified the long-term needs of victims' families.  The knowledge gained from the study will advance scientific research in the field, and the findings will guide communities in providing services to victims' families and helping individuals heal after traumatic events.

  
Participants must be directly or indirectly related to a victim of one of these attacks, be 18 years or older, and understand English.  They will be asked to complete an online questionnaire that takes approximately 40-50 minutes.  In order to understand a variety of unique personal experiences, we would like as many family members as possible to participate in the study.

 

For information about the research project and how to participate,visit VOICES website.  

 

If you are an immediate or extended family member and would like to participate, contact Mary Fetchet at (203) 966-3911, or by email at mafetchet@voicesofsept11.org. 

 

 

Voices of September 11th Awarded Grant from
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

 

 

VOICES was recently awarded a 14-month grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).   Funding is supporting VOICES initiative to create a training program that will assist communities in preparing for and responding to acts of terrorism, mass violence, and natural disasters. The project is an initiative of VOICES Resilience Center. This is the third grant VOICES has received from the prestigious foundation.

 

Not a week goes by without a report of another tragedy occurring in our country, both natural and man-made disasters, so the notion of "it can't happen here" is fading.  It is critical that communities are better prepared to respond to the immediate and long-term needs of victims' families, survivors and the community at large.

 

Recent acts of mass violence and natural disasters underscore the need for communities to be better prepared.  VOICES Resilience Center Initiative will incorporate the organization's lessons learned from 13 years of experience in providing support services to victims' families, responders and survivors as well as other research projects VOICES has conducted.

 

In the fall of 2014, VOICES released Preparing for After, a comprehensive Resource Kit to assist communities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from incidents of mass violence. The Resource Kit recommendations are based on extensive research and interviews conducted with hundreds of service providers who responded to the September 11th attacks, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the shootings at Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University and in Tucson, Arizona. The Resource Kit outlines best practices in areas such as organizational setup, family assistance centers, communications, volunteer management, funding, partnerships, support services, advocacy, and commemoration.

 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant will help develop the Resource Kit curriculum and training and expand upon the lessons learned to include natural disasters.

 

There are more similarities than differences when individuals suffer a loss in a terrorist attack, an act of mass violence or a natural disaster. Community stakeholders need training to be better equipped to effectively take action in the short-term to facilitate a long-term model that promotes resiliency in their communities.  The curriculum and training will be geared toward local leaders, emergency managers, social work professionals and other key community stakeholders.

 

VOICES Resilience Center Initiative will validate the Resource Kit findings and incorporate lessons learned from two New Jersey communities - Brigantine, which was devastated by Super Storm Sandy, and New Brunswick, which was impacted by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

 

As part of the project, VOICES is leveraging the past investments by RWJF in the Mental Health Association of New Jersey's (MHANJ) work in response to Super Storm Sandy. VOICES has partnered with the MHANJ and other public and private sector stakeholders in Brigantine as well as in New Brunswick and Middlesex County to document their first-hand experience in supporting their communities.

 

Our ultimate goal is to make the VOICES Resilience Center Initiative a national curriculum and training program that helps improve the existing support models available for victims' families, responders and survivors and promotes healing and resiliency in communities following major traumatic events.  We are delighted to be partnering with the Mental Health Association of New Jersey on this initiative.

 

For more information or to download a copy of the Preparing for After Resource Kit, visit

www.voicesofseptember11.org.