WTC Records Folder 0128 Disaster Information General label, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document Responding to Terrorism Victims - Oklahoma City and Beyond Page 2 of 7

emotional, psychological, physical, legal, and financial consequences. For example, custody decisions and legal processes were necessary for children who were left without a parent or both parents as a result of the bombing. As time passed, victims and families experienced new issues and challenges. In addition, it became evident that victims were not limited to the injured and the families of and others close to those killed in the bombing. Playing a role in responding to the bombing had a traumatic impact upon the men and women who were involved in the emergency response, such as rescue workers who participated in the recovery of victims and bodies, and those who provided care to the victims in the immediate aftermath and in the months and years following the bombing. Significant levels of secondary traumatic stress were experienced by a wide range of professionals and were exacerbated in many cases by the cumulative effect of exposure to other traumatic events.

The U.S. Attorney's Office and - l ~, - other agencies involved with the § victims faced the emotional hardship of working with a< xla n anguished family members, ensuring orphaned children were adingaM *4pe4à ,- appropriately placed, and c tfl -T ~ a- fl „.~~e~ ~ accompanying the Medical { Examiner to report often gruesome findings to families. This situation was compounded by personal losses within the offices themselyes. Within the U.S. Attorney's Office, a husband and a grandchild were killed in the bombing. Staff members in many offices continued to put in a full day's work when friends remained among the missing. Throughout Oklahoma City, wrenching decisions faced survivors, family members, friends, and fellow employees as multiple funerals took place simultaneously. Difficult decisions about which service to attend added guilt to grief. One employee who lost most of the agents in his office attended 30 funerals. Caregiving professionals and victim advocates, while skilled in dealing with victims' severe emotional distress, were•not prepared for the scope and intensity of the traumatic reactions experienced in the weeks, months, and years after the bombing. Mental health support services were provided through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Project Heartland.

Employee Assistance Program

Counseling and debriefing opportunities were available to federal employees through their respective Employee Assistance Programs.4 Many EAP staff returned to Oklahoma City several times. They conducted a training session for office management, to include the U.S. Attorney, on How To Recognize and Refer the Troubled Employee. EAP also conducted several general training sessions for the office on grief, loss, and trauma. Finally, EAP contracted with an eminent trauma psychologist who went to Oklahoma on several occasions to meet with interested employees. Initially, many employees did not use these resources at the time they were offered.'- In addition, no consistent link was established with local mental health professionals, such as Project Heartland staff, who were also

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/respterrorism/chap3.html 9/29/01

NYC-WTC 000137320