|
|
From November 2001 NASW NEWS Many acted as clearinghouses for volunteer referrals. By John V. O'Neill, MSW, NEWS Staff NASW's 56 chapters have all been affected by fallout from the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. In addition to American Red Cross-trained members summoned to help at disaster sites, many others wanted to volunteer to help in some way, and chapters became clearinghouses trying to match them with people in need of disaster mental health services. Most affected were chapters in areas hit directly by the terrorist strikes, probably none more than New York City and New York State. The New York State Chapter was asked to assist in staffing the Disaster Assistance Services Center that opened in New York City on Sept. 28 to provide an array of services and support to victims, including those from New York City, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey and other areas. The chapter put out a call for volunteers experienced in grief and trauma work who could accept pro bono referrals at their own places of employment. Workers at the center were to send those in need of crisis counseling, grief counseling or mental health services to the chapter for referral to qualified social workers. Like the NASW national office and the New York City Chapter, the New York State Chapter quickly provided information on its Web site on how to help and contribute, with numerous links to disaster-response organizations, victims' services and information on coping with trauma. Members of the Pennsylvania Chapter's Lehigh Valley Division participated in counseling and debriefings in Pittsburgh and the New York area and with members of the Secret Service. They developed and helped staff a community center hotline to answer questions and make referrals, and helped create and distribute a resource flyer. Members of the Connecticut Chapter were called to New York City as Red Cross volunteers or through managed care companies. The chapter provided a school speaker and helped an employee assistance company overwhelmed with calls. A retreat was planned for Oct. 17 for social workers to talk about the events and decide how to best proceed in coming months. The Metro Washington Chapter became a clearinghouse for volunteers to work at the site of the Pentagon crash and to help the Red Cross in its national efforts. Volunteer opportunities listed by the chapter included: staffing the Red Cross's Compassion Center at its national headquarters in Washington; working on-site at the Pentagon; answering telephones at the Red Cross disaster headquarters; participating on crisis-response debriefing teams; working on the national disaster hotline for the Red Cross; and providing counseling for flight attendants at a walk-in location at Dulles Airport. The Maryland Chapter organized a 14-hour workshop on critical-incident stress management for early December in Baltimore and planned a task force to develop a long-range strategy for the chapter. In addition, the Puerto Rico Chapter translated related content on NASW's national Web site, www.socialworkers.org, into Spanish. Back to NASW NEWS Contents
|
 |
