Counselor looks back over year since Sept. 11

Rick Johnson, a social worker from the Schenectady County office of Catholic Charities, traveled to New York City to work with families that had lost a loved one. Recently, in an interview with Pat Pasternak, staff writer, he shared his thoughts and feelings about how last year's events affected him, both personally and as a healthcare professional:

"I was glad to have had the opportunity to do something constructive. In retrospect, for me it was important to go there and do something positive, a direct avenue of action, if you will, and it personally helped me to deal with the tragedy....

"I felt a tremendous amount of anger at first though. I wondered how we as a nation, ever got to a point in life where people could hate us so much that they would be willing to not only take their own life but the lives of innocent men, women and children, just to prove their point....

"At first, the families had very real, very pressing problems, like simply making it from one day to the next. Many were without any income because they lost the main wage-earner in their family. Of course, people responded on a national level in support of these families. Our initial support [through donations of money, volunteer hours and gifts of blood] helped us to bond and heal, and temporarily helped many of these people....

"One year later, many of those families are still facing the same problems. Now that most of us have returned to our everyday routine, many continue to suffer, in countless ways, from the trauma of a major, life-changing event. They still struggle with lack of income and the loss of a spouse or parent. Their needs are ongoing, and their dilemmas are real. Although they are surviving, they are still severely impaired. I am concerned that we do not forget them, that each one of us can remember their need and work, in whatever way we can, to see that they are still being cared for....

"I still frequently travel to New York; I am there almost every week. I do see a change in the people, at least many of them. There is a spirit, a camaraderie there that I never saw before. People are more caring, more considerate of each other. The city has changed....

"The event of Sept. 11, 2001, is over, but the effect of the attacks on the World Trade Center and our national consciousness can't ever be undone. As a result of what happened, we have all changed, because it touched every one of us....

"One year later, we are dealing with corporate greed and scandal. I find the same disregard by the leaders of these corporations that I saw in the terrorist attacks. This disregard is manifested in taking away people's life savings from them. So, where are our values as a society? Were the lessons we learned from Sept. 11 temporary ones, or will we take action from what we've learned and use it to improve life for everyone? I would like to see us find a balance in the degree to which we tackle problems facing us, such as homelessness; problems that do not appear to be as threatening as the attacks were, but which are still very real and pressing. Can we apply what we've learned to tackling problems like these more assertively, more aggressively?...

"A year later, I know it's made me more vigilant regarding my family and those close to me. I think the events of Sept. 11 destroyed a major level of security for all of us. Our collective innocence has been greatly diminished. How can we teach our young people to trust others, to be happy and secure? How can we do this while still preserving their innocence?...

"Now I am more focused, more cognizant of the temporal nature of life. When I am with my clients, I am asking myself, 'What really is important here? How meaningful are the issues we are all facing? How can I use myself to help people to see what is most important in their life?'...

"I've realized more than ever that our existence is only temporary. I hope to be able to help those I work with to see that, to know that their life can be lived in such a way that they can be happy and productive even though they may have serious problems to deal with....

"Our grief is still so fresh, the tragedy still so close to us. In our collective conscience, are we taking the lessons that can be learned from such a tragedy and turning them into an epiphany, a turning point, or are we ignoring the message of Sept. 11?"

(09-05-02) [[In-content Ad]]