Page 152 - Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience

Working as an Ally to Underserved Communities 121

As the needs of recovery workers increased, the concept of recovery
became more complex. By the end of 2005, the majority of people seek-
ing assistance from the 9/11 Roundtable were people who cleaned in or
around the area of Ground Zero. Many had combinations of respira-
tory/pulmonary illnesses, muscular-skeletal injuries and mental health
needs including PTSD. Up to 30% of the people suffering from these ill-
nesses and seeking unmet needs assistance were undocumented immi-
grants who had cleaned the site via small cleaning companies that were
created for the effort or who were in unions that, until September 11,
had not been required to have their immigration status verified. Because
New York City is approximately 47% foreign born or second-generation
foreign born, immigrants working to clean the city were familiar to
everyone involved in the recovery effort. However, the backlash against
immigrants after the 9/11 attack made advocating for their needs or
raising the visibility of their illnesses a slippery slope for 9/11 long-term
recovery agencies. Once again, the faith communities, through NYDIS
and the 9/11 Roundtable, in particular, saw this as a central role for
advocacy.
One of the first steps that the 9/11 Roundtable had to take in respond-
ing to the emerging needs of the World Trade Center recovery workers
was to reflect on the giving criteria of donors and return to a discus-
sion of “what is recovery?” In this case, the decision to hold cases until
their final stage of a recovery plan would have closed the door on many
recovery workers who were just emerging with illnesses. For many of
these recovery workers, their long-term recovery plan included access-
ing worker’s compensation insurance from the state, a process that took
an average of two years. In the meantime, these recovery workers could
become homeless while receiving primary care at Mt. Sinai hospital. In
many cases, the recovery workers had a career in physical labor–type jobs,
so creating a sustainable recovery plan included vocational training and
acceptance of their long-term disabilities. In some case, a recovery plan
included end-of-life planning for the family of the recovery worker and
job development for the recovery worker’s spouse. In a few cases, NYDIS
was called upon to provide funding for funeral expenses of a recovery
worker who had died from respiratory/pulmonary illnesses. The stress
of supporting this effort, with limited case managers and resources in
the community, affected everyone participating in the NYC 9/11 Unmet
Needs Roundtable and the staff of NYDIS.