The first phase of CISM support in the Port Authority
Police Department ended on December 30, 2001.
ICPC had been contacted on September 12th with a request
for chaplains to help the PAPD. Over the course of the 16 weeks this
phase lasted, 67 ICPC chaplains spent a week or more as members of the
PAPD CISM team. At the request, of the PAPD coordinator, since
mid-November four of the five chaplains each week have been “returnees”
going back for a second tour of duty. In all, 108 chaplain slots were
filled by ICPC chaplains who volunteered.
One of the first lessons learned by this unprecedented
disaster was that the formal model of Critical Incident Stress
Debriefing could not be implemented. It was been too soon to do formal
debriefings. The work is still going on, officers are still working
12-hour shifts, no life in the department has yet returned to normal.
A new addition to the CISD model WAS developed: "V&V
- Ventilate and Validate". All it took was a chaplain’s hard-hat and an
informal one-on-one conversation that began with "How ya doin’?" to
allow the emergency workers an opportunity to talk about their feelings
and experiences.
Phase 2 is planned for later this spring and will
include the first round of formal debriefings. Phase 3 will be in
September after Labor Day and will continue with formal debriefings as
well as V&V.
All chaplains resonding for the first time to the
9-11disasters raised their own funds to cover their expenses. Many law
enforcement agencies, cities, police unions, churches and individuals
contributed to make it possible for their chaplain to respond when
needed.