Impact 9-11: Resiliency, not retreat

A month after the World Trade Center's twin towers fell, Dr. Mark Skrade, president of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology, was working near the front lines.

Stationed two miles from ground zero, Skrade worked as a "mental health technician" with the Ozarks chapter of the American Red Cross at the Family Assistance Center's public dining area at Manhattan's Pier 94.

The area was set up like a trade show with booths from some 50 different agencies, Skrade said.

One story Skrade recalled is that of a man who worked at a command center set up near ground zero after the planes had hit the towers, but before they had collapsed.

The man told Skrade that as the first tower began coming down, people scattered beneath a nearby loading dock. From there the man heard a "pop, pop, pop, pop, pop," and he thought it was a helicopter. Then it turned pitch black with dust and smoke, the man told Skrade.

The man later realized the sound he mistook for the blades of a helicopter was "the sound of the floors slapping against each other," Skrade said.

Skrade was amazed at how the city's police force defied the popular stereotype of big-city cops. They were sensitive to neighborhood issues; many were bilingual and they were caring individuals, he said. "I mean it changed my whole perspective of the big city."

A particularly poignant moment for Skrade was when a retiring policeman gave him a lapel pin of the twin towers, especially cast for city firemen and policemen. It was touching, he said. "I just teared up."

Skrade has seen a stronger bonding between local community crisis organization members since his return. He's also seen interest in crisis training increase.

"More people are willing to at least become trained and be prepared should this ever happen again," he said.

by Paul Schreiber

SBJ Reporter