Rev. Martha R. Jacobs, D. Min., with important information for 9/11 spiritual care providers

Are You at Risk?

I am the president of the New York Disaster Interfaith Services, an organization that works to help those who have been impacted by 9/11. One of the services that NYDIS provides is hosting the NYC 9/11 Unmet Needs Roundtable where case workers present cases of those who are in need of financial assistance as a result of the events of 9/11. As president, I sign the checks that are sent out. Several weeks ago, one particular check caught my attention. It was a check for about $6000 to a funeral home. When I looked over the back-up materials, as I am required to do, I noticed that this was someone who had worked as a recovery worker at Ground Zero. I happened to notice his birth year. He was only 3 years older than I. I sat there stunned and saddened as I considered how close in age we were. I could not get this man out of my head and heart for several days.

I finally realized that there was a question haunting me. Could this have been one of the workers with whom I had spent time in one of the respite centers over the months that I served as a spiritual care volunteer? It then dawned on me that it was possible that those with whom I talked, cried, laughed, or played cards, could now be sick and dying. That brought tears to my eyes.

This connection brought me to another realization – I too had been out in that air, breathing what the workers had been breathing (on a lesser scale, but breathing it nonetheless) as I walked with workers to visit the "cross" that had been found amidst the rubble. As I traveled to and from respite centers, I too had breathed that air. While I am healthy now, there is no way to know if I will always be healthy. There is a chance that I was exposed to the toxins in the air at Ground Zero that could cause permanent and fatal health issues in the future.

I am neither an alarmist nor a pessimist. I am however, through my work with NYDIS, coming to understand the magnitude of the latest tragedy from 9/11. The illnesses and deaths of so many workers who refused to take days off, refused to sleep as they worked on “the pile,” trying to find survivors, and then working tirelessly for months afterwards to recover the remains of those who perished on 9/11. And then there are those who volunteered – including chaplains – who may also be at risk.

This connection made me realize that I needed to register through NYCOSH for workers' compensation. This way, if I become ill and it is determined that it is a result of the quality of the air that I breathed in 2001, my health needs will be take care of and financial assistance will be provided.

I strongly encourage anyone who came to New York and served at one of the respite centers for any length of time to go to this website and download the form and send it in. It will only take a few minutes to do so. If you do not register before August 14, you can never file a claim for health costs and financial assistance if you do develop an illness that could be linked to something that you took into your lungs and body while volunteering at Ground Zero. One chaplain has already died. Be your own advocate – register.

For information and to download the registration form, go to: www.nycosh.org.

Do you have thoughts about advocacy you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send an e-mail to info@PlainViews.org.