wfn.org | Around New York, UMCOR reaching out to 9-11 victims

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 9, 2002       News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-21-71B{465}

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Families and individuals affected by the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks can receive assistance at seven satellite offices
established in New York City by the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

 From those offices and an administrative base at 475 Riverside Drive,
families and individuals - as of early October, according to the Rev. Ramon
UMCOR's 9-11 case management program had opened files on 146 clients - both
is open an average of three to six months, and 230 cases are on a waiting
list. 
Nieves, program director. It already had closed 15 cases by then. Each case

Since June, the $5 million program has provided comprehensive services to
its clients, including referrals for counseling and employment, and
assistance with food, housing, transportation and clothing costs. Besides
Nieves, the staff includes three case managers, two case aides, a project
assistant and two volunteers.

Those affected by the Sept. 11 attacks in New York basically fall into two
categories: people who have the ability and means to recover and others,
some with no legal documentation, who have not found support, Nieves said.
"Recovery, for some folks, has not even begun." 

In such cases, he said, entire families are receiving program benefits
through UMCOR. For instance, one or both parents might need day care for
children and transportation to a job, the household might need extra food
assistance and the children might need referrals for psychological
counseling. With the beginning of the school year, the program distributed
more than 500 school and health kits given by churches around the country to
UMCOR's Sager-Brown Depot in Louisiana.

For a few, the trauma has been severe. Nieves said one client worked as a
data processor at an office in one of the Twin Towers. On the morning of the
attack, she had left the office to go home and retrieve a forgotten disk.
"She believes she was spared, but she doesn't feel she has a right to live,"
he explained. "She's become suicidal and can't work."

The first anniversary of the tragedy was traumatic for others, both
emotionally and economically. "The anniversary impacted our waiting list,"
he confirmed. "The requests for counseling surged immediately."  

For the most part, the program has been advertised through fliers and staff
visits to various neighborhoods. "We have been visiting United Methodist
churches throughout the (city's) boroughs," said Nieves, who added that the
denomination's New York Annual (regional) Conference and the United
Methodist City Society also have been helpful.

A diverse staff in terms of ethnic makeup, including a member who knows
African dialects, "allows us to reach a good number of the population which
was affected," he added. The program will soon hire a fourth case manager
fluent in the major Chinese dialects.

Because of its case management program, UMCOR has become a major player,
with other groups such as the Red Cross, Catholic Charities and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, in New York's unmet needs roundtable, according
to Nieves. 

UMCOR also has recognized "the serious health issues that evolve and
continue to evolve on the Lower East Side (of Manhattan)" because of air
pollution resulting from the blast, noting severe respiratory problems,
especially asthma in children. Nieves said the agency has advocated for
government assistance and the distribution of air purifiers to alleviate the
situation. 

Nieves originally had planned to rent space for the case management program
near Ground Zero as a visible symbol of the United Methodist commitment to
the recovery process, but later decided the satellite system provided more
mobility and a better use of economic resources. 

The current satellite offices are at Chinese United Methodist Church in
Chinatown; Metropolitan-Duane United Methodist Church in Greenwich Village;
a United Methodist City Society-owned building in Harlem; the Women's Muslim
Research and Development Center in the Bronx; the United Methodist Center
for Pastoral Leadership in the Bronx; Community United Methodist Church in
Jackson Heights, Queens; and Astoria Community Services in Astoria, Queens.

Nieves said he is seeking office space in Brooklyn, but has received no
requests so far to set up an office on Staten Island.

More information about the program is available by calling (212) 870-3772.

# # #

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org