WTC Records Folder 0128 Disaster Information General label, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document Responding to Terrorism Victims - Oklahoma City and Beyond Page 3 of 6

Association, provided approximately 20 funeral directors to greet families and gather predeath and antemortem information (American Psychological Association, July 1997). By the next day, April 20, the American Red Cross was operating the Center serving victims and families. The Center also was supported by the hundreds of local clergy, police and military chaplains, and mental health professionals from across the Nation. Other agencies sharing support responsibilities for the Center included the county sheriff's office, the Oklahoma National Guard, the Salvation Army, Tinker Air Force Base, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Center was located in the First Christian Church in downtown Oklahoma City because of its proximity to the bombing site, the size and floor plan of the building, and adequate parking for about 1,200 vehicles.!

Immediately, the Compassion Center put policies in place to limit media intrusion upon those who wanted privacy, while allowing access to the survivors and family members who wanted to speak with the press. Mental health care and ARC public affairs specialists briefed individuals before interviews, escorted them to interviews, and debriefed them afterward to reduce the possibility of retraumatization.

The Center was a place to exchange information. First, the families themselves provided detailed information, photographs, and medical/dental records to identify loved ones who were still missing. Second, as a humanitarian effort, the Center provided information about emergency services, mental health counseling, security, and comfort for victims and surviving family members. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and a liaison from the Governor of Oklahoma provided twice daily updates to the victims' families on the rescue-and-recovery efforts. The "family room" set up in the Center protected relatives from the additional trauma of media intrusions. The family room also offered special areas where people could receive messages, eat meals, and use donated long-distance phone services.

During its 16 days of operation, the Center served thousands of victims, survivors, family members, and rescue workers seeking news, information, and solace. Daily, some 400 mental health professionals participated in support, death notification, and staffing mental health services at the Center (Oklahoma Department of Civil Emergency Management, 1996). Within 48 hours, a need for a child mental health specialist on the death notification teams was recognized. Following the death notification, parents and other family members often had questions about what to tell their children, how children at various ages might react, and how to manage their own grief in front of their children (American Psychological Association, July 1997).

As stress and work took their toll on rescue personnel, crisis intervention on their behalf became necessary. When rescue workers switched from saving lives to retrieving bodies and body parts, separate staff were provided to offer stress management services. More than 12,000 volunteer and professional rescue personnel were involved in the rescue operation. Compassion Center staff also recognized that many media representatives were becoming secondary victims

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/respterrorism/chap2.ht -d 9/29/01

NYC-WTC 000137315