NASW Responds to Terror Attacks

Members contact NASW in aftermath of attacks, hoping to volunteer.

by John V. O'Neill, MSW, News Staff
October 2001

Two days after the horrific Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, NASW's national office in Washington, D.C., and its chapters around the country were scrambling to find ways the social work profession could best help in the national crisis.

Many members contacted the association in the aftermath of the attacks, hoping to volunteer for crisis or trauma counseling or to find other ways to offer comfort to those emotionally and physically devastated by the attacks on New York City and the Pentagon and the airplane crash in Pennsylvania.

NASW put a statement on its Web site deploring the senseless actions that "have devastated lives, families and our national sense of security" and offering full support to the president and Congress "in their efforts to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice."

"Social workers in the United States and around the world are prepared to play a vital role in the recovery process," said the statement. "We know that the wounds — both physical and psychological — created by the unspeakable violence we witnessed on Sept. 11 will need time to heal."

"As members of the human family, everyone in our country will struggle with a wide range of intense emotions in the coming weeks. We grieve for the victims, their families and friends. However, our national unity, commitment to democracy and respect for and acceptance of all persons regardless of race, ethnicity, cultural background and religious beliefs can sustain us through this stressful time and help us cope with our immense loss," the statement read.

The association posted Web site links to its Register of Clinical Social Workers for those seeking counseling and to other useful sites.

Employees at NASW's New York City and Washington, D.C., offices were personally affected by proximity to the terrorist attacks. In New York City, the "damage was almost incomprehensible," said Robert Schachter, the chapter's executive director, who was in Albany for a meeting that morning.

Located at 50 Broadway on the 10th floor of a 27-story building, just five and one-half blocks from the World Trade Center, the New York City Chapter office was still closed two days after the attack, and it was uncertain when business would return to normal. All employees were safe, although two staff members went through harrowing experiences.

Schachter said the staff members arrived at work unaware of the magnitude of the attack. When the first of the twin World Trade Center towers collapsed, it made their building jump on its foundation. They rushed to the window and saw the avalanche of smoke and ash sweep down the street below and the terrifying blackness that followed. They went to the building's lobby, only to find the doors locked and no one allowed outside. Later, both left the building and got home safely.

Earlier, while on their way to work, two senior staff had seen the airplanes crash into the World Trade Center buildings and returned home.

Schachter was using his upper-Manhattan West Side home as headquarters for the chapter, although telephone service was sporadic, he couldn't access the Internet and all access to large areas of Manhattan was denied. He was on the telephone with Harriet Putterman, head of social policy and action, at her home in Brooklyn and Jessica Rosenberg, assistant director, at her Manhattan home.

Sue Settles, executive director of the Oklahoma Chapter, briefed the New Yorkers about responses after the Oklahoma City bombing five years ago.

The New York City Chapter was taking actions in three areas:

• Trying to coordinate chapter leaders' communication about the chapter's response and resuming normal operations.
• The use of the chapter's 85-person Disaster/Trauma Working Group, chaired by Madeline Miller, many of them trained by the Red Cross as mental health disaster volunteers.
• Participating with the initial response of the United Way in bringing together human services agencies to New York City to aid victims. Schachter said the chapter was in the initial stages of identifying and learning what was needed to volunteer.

"We are in the bare aftermath of this," said Schachter on Sept. 13. "We have short-term needs and responses, and will have long-term needs in terms of providing services. The Oklahoma Chapter was involved with United Way responses for three years."

For all the trauma and other problems the attacks caused, NASW's New York City Chapter was fortunate. Three years ago, the chapter moved its offices from a location just one block from the World Trade Center. "We were right 'underneath' it," said Schachter.

NASW's national office in Washington was shut down amid a swirl of rumor and near panic in the city after the Pentagon was hit by an airplane several miles away, killing about 190 people.

Located just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol and adjacent to Union Station, the city's large train station, the office remained closed a second day because of the city's state of emergency.

On returning Sept. 13, the national office took a number of actions, including getting information onto the association's Web site, www.socialworkers.org; writing letters to mayors, governors and other political leaders in areas affected by the attacks offering condolences and assistance; and coordinating assistance with chapters.

In addition, the NASW Foundation on Sept. 17 announced the creation of "The 911 Fund: A Social Workers' Response" to help NASW deal with disasters, both natural and man-made, now and in the future. The fund will enable: direct assistance to chapters affected by a trauma; production of informational materials for individuals and families, with a focus on post-traumatic stress, depression, grief and crisis intervention; and development of a training program that will help chapters respond to local disasters. Tax-deductible donations may be made to: NASW Foundation/911 Fund, Executive Office, 750 First Street, N.E., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20002-4241.

Chapters directly affected by the violence and those in distant parts of the nation were mobilizing to help. Some of NASW's actions included these:

• The New Jersey Chapter found itself in better shape to move forward than did New York City, since its offices in Hamilton were unaffected. New Executive Director Walter Kalman said the chapter is getting requests for volunteers from the Red Cross, the state police and the attorney general's office. The chapter, he said, acts as triage for requests for aid and puts members in touch with places looking for assistance or lets agencies call volunteers. "We are now getting requests from corporations asking us to do debriefings," said Kalman. A team was invited to debrief the staff at the Marriott Hotel located near the World Trade Center.
• The Metro Washington Chapter, through its newsletter and telephone calls, was compiling a directory of those wishing to volunteer so that when requests came in, members could be referred. The chapter serves as a mental health component of a crisis response team along with several community groups. Members have participated in hotlines and staffed city mental health centers where services are offered free of charge. For the short term, said chapter Executive Director Joyce Higashi, "we are taking names and numbers and sending groups here and there."
• Debra Riggs, executive director of the Virginia Chapter, said between 25 and 30 members, many representing others at worksites, called in the first two days after the attacks looking for volunteer opportunities.
• Rebecca Myers, Pennsylvania Chapter executive director, said she is focusing on getting more people trained in crisis intervention. "This has affected everybody, and it's going to have a massive long-term impact," she said.
• Moya Atkinson, Maryland Chapter executive director, was compiling names of people who wanted more training to deal with crises. "I think this is just the beginning of a period of great need for social workers," she said.
• One response of the Connecticut Chapter was to study the need to offer support groups for grief counselors in the southwestern area of the state, so providers would have a place for their own emotional release, said Steve Karp, executive director.
• Other chapters far away from the violence were taking actions. For instance, the Missouri Chapter activated its Crisis Assistance Response Effort team to provide trauma assistance to members and the public and to contact New York City to see if they could be of assistance.