HOME GROUND

To 9/11 Responders and Family Members:

It has been an honor and privilege for the staff of Home Ground to serve your needs since September of 2001. As a result of the services we provided we were able to develop the special program for 9/11 Responders and their family members that we labeled Home Ground; the only mental health services program on Long Island to receive a three-year $1.3M federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Over the years, as a result of other generous granting agencies we have provided a wide range of mental health educational and prevention services designed to help you address the post-trauma impacts you experienced as a result of your 9/11 contributions. We are very proud of the efforts of our Home Ground professional staff for the counseling and other educational services they designed and offered to you.

Over the past years, Home Ground staff provided outreach, educational/prevention services to over 4,500 responders and family members including "Intensive Family Counseling" weekends and individual, group, child and family/couples sessions.

On June 30th, 2008, our grant funding through the American Red Cross ended. We are pleased that so many responders and their family members continuously indicated to us that they have benefited from Home Ground Services. The Home Ground staff has been working with Home Ground participants to provide options and linkages so that they may continue to receive the support they need. If you have questions, please feel free to call Janet Kahn-Scolaro at South Nassau's Mental Health Counseling Center at (516) 377-5400. Please find below a list of continuing 9/11 specific mental health agencies working with or providing benefits to the 9/11 Responder population:

World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. This program registers all 9/11 responders who participated in any type of rescue, recovery or clean-up at any of the WTC work sites with the exception of FDNY uniformed firefighters and officers. Please access their website to find one of "exam sites" nearest you or you may make initial contact with the central location in Manhattan at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. They can be reached at (888) 702-0630 and at their website at http://www.wtcexams.org. You may access the Manhattan location and all other "exam sites" on this site.
If you worked or work for the Fire Department in any capacity you may contact the FDNY Counseling Services Unit at (212) 570-1693. Web information for the Department can be found at FDNY.com (the official site). FDNY also offers medical monitoring through their Medical Unit.
NYC 9/11 Health -NYC 9/11 Health Benefit. If you are or were employed by NYC and you responded to 9/11 as part of your work you may be eligible for mental health benefits in the New York City 9-11 Benefit Program for Mental Health & Substance Abuse. This program provides access to the WTC Medical Monitoring Program or to private practitioners/agencies; it allows coverage of mental health benefits including assessment of needs, therapy and medication for eligible 9/11 Responders. To learn more about who is eligible, what is covered and how to apply please contact (877)-737-1164. You may access the website at NYC 9/11 Health.com.
Psychology and Society (Disaster Response) (516) 876-3198 will provide information about the impact on relief, rescue and recovery workers during and following natural and human-caused events and responders can discuss types of effective services and treatments with trained mental health providers.
You may still be eligible to apply for Worker's Compensation but must do so by August 2008. For Information about eligibility and application procedures, please contact www: New York State Workers Compensation Board on their website and click on the "Contact Us" link for the telephone number of the office nearest your work or residence or call their toll free number at (877) 632-4006.

As we transition our roles at Home Ground, we wish to acknowledge all of the people and agencies who provided professional and financial support allowing us to find innovative programs to serve your post-9/11 needs. We are sincerely grateful to all 9/11 Responders and their family members for the important service they provided to the people of the city, state and country.