Fifth Week Update

The last few weeks were quite eventful at ICISF. The following information should help to bring you up to date.

• Between September 11 and September 30, ICISF handled 23,000 phone calls related to the terrorist attacks. (A 300% increase in call volume)
• Over 500 e-mails per day poured into ICISF.
• The web site handled 77,900 + unique user sessions, to date (10/22/01).
• Over 912,000 + hits were recorded on the ICISF.org server, to date (10/22/01).
• There were over 250,000 page views/downloads of the informational pages and articles.
• The ICISF staff worked 14-16 hour days and worked weekends as well.
• A video titled " Stress, the Hidden Threat" was produced in a joint effort by FEMA and ICISF. The video was aired on 10/3/01 and contains a great deal of useful information on reactions to the attacks on America and what people can do to recover from those tragedies.
• ICISF has been coordinating efforts to send three CISM teams per week to the World Trade Center CISM Support services command center. (Managed by the Hudson Valley CISM Team.) The teams are providing services to law enforcement officers in the New York City area. The teams are also coordinating efforts with POPPA (Police Organizations Providing Peer Assistance.) The work at this time has been primarily individual contacts, education and family assistance. Teams are being sent from various locations in the US (See Don Howell’s update on the web site for additional details.)
• The Foundation has also been coordinating efforts to send 2-3 teams to the NY/ NJ Port Authority Command Post (Managed by the NJ CISM Network.) Assistance is being provided to the Port Authority Police Department by these teams.
• Other organizations have been offered CISM services by local teams, ICISF, and the On-Site academy from Gardener MA. Requests for support from firefighters is being handled by the FDNY Counseling Center.
• ICISF has received many requests from private businesses. These requests have been referred to groups that provide CISM services to the private sector.

• ICISF deployed a Strategic Planning Committee to New York for observation of CISM activities and to provide consultation. The committee was impressed with the respite centers run by the American Red Cross. They were well organized and provided a wide range of support services to those who are working at "ground zero."
• ICISF continues to encourage collaboration for the good of those in distress. We are continuing to encourage teams not to "self-dispatch."
• The costs of the efforts to provide CISM services continue to mount. ICISF is committed to providing assistance in the months to come. We are currently accepting donations to assist the CISM response efforts to the recent terrorist attacks. (Please see the web site for more details about donations.

 

I hope this brings you up to date. In the next issue of Life Net there will be more information on CISM services in the aftermath of the attacks on America.

Jeffrey T. Mitchell, Ph.D., CTS
President of ICISF Inc.