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This article is from the EMU News Archive. Current EMU new is available at www.emu.edu/news
STAR NYC Commemorates 9/11 in Sept. 10 Remembrance:
PACE University Joins in Co-Sponsoring Community Event
STAR, or Strategies on Trauma Awareness and Resilience, is a
joint venture between humanitarian
On September 10, the remembrance will focus on “Breaking the
Cycle of Violence… Healing, Restoring and Rebuilding Ourselves and Our
Communities.” Co-sponsored by
Keynote speakers for the event are Steven McDonald and
Johann Christoph Arnold.
NYPD detective Steven
McDonald was questioning three
youths in 1986 when one of them shot him three times. He narrowly survived, and
was left paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a tracheotomy. He had been married less than a year, and his
wife was two months pregnant.
McDonald now speaks to thousands of students in schools up and down the
East Coast. Aside from recounting the
events of the day that changed his life, McDonald focuses on his long road to
inner and outer recovery—a journey through anguish and anger to peace,
beginning with a decision to forgive his attacker. He tells audiences why he feels that “the
only thing worse than a bullet in my spine would have been revenge.”
In December of 2003, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly acknowledged his
extraordinary contribution to the community with a surprise double promotion to
Detective First Grade.
During Arnold’s teen years he decided to dedicate his life to the vision
held by his parents and grandparents. This sparked his interest in the Civil
Rights Movement, and he went to the South to support that cause. He marched
with Martin Luther King, Jr., visited him in his home, and became his friend.
Here he saw forgiveness powerfully lived and preached.
An outspoken social critic, Arnold has been a guest on hundreds of talk
shows, and a speaker at numerous colleges and high schools. He advocates a consistent reverence for life
and opposes violence in any form. He is
a member of the Bruderhof Communities, an international communal movement
dedicated to a life of non-violence, simplicity, service, and sharing.
More about STAR NYC
The STAR New York program, which began in February 2002 in response to the tragedies of September 11, trains and supports key leaders and caregivers, especially in underserved communities, in understanding trauma, its symptoms and strategies for healing.
“STAR training is unique in that it reaches people who are wary of
‘mental health, and would not seek professional help on their own,” says Ruth Yoder Wenger of STAR NYC. “STAR
is presented in a way that describes the physiological, spiritual and social
dimensions of trauma healing. Trauma is normalized and is presented as
something that affects individuals and whole societies."
The STAR New York City office opened in October 2003 at the
request of New York City seminar alumni who found they needed support to deal
with the ongoing implications of September 11th’s aftermath.
In a cascade effect, following the September 11 attack, nearly all
sectors of civil society experienced shock, including labor unions, community
organizations, schools, nonprofit service providers and religious institutions.
Job loss dramatically affected underserved immigrant communities and people of
color. Private sector leaders in lower Manhattan reported ongoing fear as a
daily stressor. Ripple effects took the shape of secondary trauma, burnout, and
compassion fatigue.
The impact of
unhealed trauma has manifested in a variety of ways in individuals, groups and
communities. At Stuyvesant High School,
located almost next door to the World Trade Center, school officials reported
that burnout and secondary trauma have led to early retirements for seasoned
administrators; requests for transfers from younger teachers; and increased
stress levels among students manifesting as heightened hyperactivity,
distraction, and anxiety. Other schools
around the five boroughs also reported high turnover of administrators as a
result of September 11 and ongoing terror alerts.
According to Brenda
Boyd Bell, also of STAR NYC,” Unhealed trauma also causes the more severe
outcomes of internalized violence (depression, eating disorders, suicide) and
externalized violence (domestic violence, rape, assault). Post-trauma stresses are also exacerbated by
concerns about additional attacks and continuing terror alerts reported in the
news, as well as continual reminders in public spaces, such as the constant
danger alerts on subway sound systems.”
Schools and Unions, Ethnic and
Religious Communities Request STAR Support
STAR NYC has
conducted follow-up training for STAR alumni from all five boroughs of New York
City. Graduate seminar participants included leaders in the Jewish, Muslim and
Christian communities, civic and religious leaders from the Arab-American,
Chinese-American, African-American, Hispanic and European immigrant
communities. Church World Service also conducted STAR seminars for a variety of
Jewish, Muslim and Christian faith-based organizations to broaden the range of
psycho-educational outreach services offered in their respective communities.
“The first three
sessions were so successful,” she says, “that the school administrator
requested an additional five sessions, which were approached thematically and
adapted to the NYC Department of Education’s standards. The teachers
immediately transferred strategies for addressing Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) in their classrooms based on the training.”
Now, administrators
at PS 21, PS 5, PS 44 and PS 284 are planning additional training and support
that address the effects of PTSD in the learning community.
In assisting the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters local 237-Union, STAR extended
supportive services through trainings and presentations to executive leaders,
administrative staff, business agents, shop stewards and general membership.
Many of these members assisted in various rescue and relief efforts during and
post-9/11 and worked in buildings near Ground Zero as officers, clericals,
healthcare providers or maintenance workers.
Community Ripple Effect as Alumni Become Trainers
“Through STAR NYC trainings, leaders and caregivers can develop a deeper
understanding of what trauma is and how it affects individuals, groups and
communities,” says CWS’s Executive Director Rev. John L. McCullough. “They can explore the connections
between unhealed trauma and cycles of depression, anger and violence, recognize
and address compassion fatigue within themselves, and build skills to find
healing paths after traumatic events through individual, group and community
interventions.”
More about Church World Service
STAR seminars are also an international program and part of Church World Service’s commitment to trauma healing in conflict settings and as a tool of conflict transformation and prevention. CWS includes trauma counseling and training as part of its domestic and international relief services.
CWS Executive Director Rev. John L. McCullough says “This grant
from the American Red Cross Liberty fund allows STAR to reach out to several
groups: healthcare workers, who have identified health issues for first
responders in lower Manhattan; union leaders; volunteer relief workers;
school administrators and personnel; and religious leaders of all faiths
who have worked in the lower Manhattan area since September 11, or whose
congregants in surrounding areas have experienced 9/11-related job loss, health
issues or emotional concerns.”
Church World Service, itself headquartered in New York City, partnered with EMU immediately after September 11, drawing on EMU’s expertise in community-based trauma healing. STAR is now also held internationally, in conflict zones such as Liberia and Guinea; explorations are underway to hold STAR in South America.
For further information on Church
World Service or Eastern Mennonite University and STAR, please visit www.churchworldservice.org or http://www.emu.edu/ctp/star-project.html
.
Ann Walle, Church World Service, 212 870 2654,
