NYDIS Training Curriculum Operations Module 3

1. NYDIS Training Curriculum Operations Module 3 Sites, Uniforms, & Putting It All Together

2. Objectives In this module, you will: • Gain familiarity with disaster response facilities in which chaplains serve • Understand how to do a death notification • Gain insight into the culture of uniformed personnel • Create a spiritual response plan and evaluate its effectiveness for at least one scenario • See that your presence makes a difference

3. First Objective: Service Facilities Family Assistance Centers (FACs) Respite Centers Morgues (Rare) Temporary Morgue (T-Mort) City/County Morgue Actual Site (Even Rarer)

4. Local Sites We May Respond to • Fires • Local emergencies • Shelters • Points of Delivery (PODS) • Cooling/Heating Centers • Disaster Assistance Service Centers (DASCs)

5. World Trade Center Families Photo courtesy of FDNY Photo Unit

6. Family Assistance Center (FAC) • Population: • Families, including children • Themes: • Families not knowing • Anxiety • Fear • Grief • Loss • Death of loved one

7. Role of the FAC The role of the FAC is to provide a safe and private place for survivors and families to grieve and/or await information regarding their loved ones.

8. Role of the FAC This is the location where the NTSB and the coroner's office will communicate with the families who have come to the vicinity [of the incident], including: progress in the recovery and investigation collection of identifying information from family members delivery of death notifications (sometimes) identification of personal effects through photographs

9. How to Open a Conversation in a FAC • Introduce yourself and your function • Start with fact/content questions • What happened? • When did you get here? • Who’s missing?

10. How to Open a Conversation in a FAC • Work with what they tell you and develop it if appropriate to the location and phase of the disaster. • Refer and/or direct them to the more appropriate person for their needs; offer to walk them to the next place in the disaster response area (within the FAC) where they are going.

11. Person in Charge At the FAC, that someone is the Spiritual Care (SC) Coordinator. When you get there, find the SC Coordinator or their designee and report for duty: Let them know you are there Let them know the hours of your shift Ask them what they need you to do

12. Working With Children Working with children in the aftermath of disaster requires a special skill set. Generally, there will be a separate area set up for children within the FAC. An approved team with expertise in working with children will set up and manage a secure area for child care, often near the family briefing room, so that family members will be in close proximity to their children. Unless you have training in working with children or are specifically asked to visit a child, please leave this to those who are qualified to work with children. (SRT Participant’s Guide, p. 71)

13. Resources and Backup Remember: You are never alone. If at any time you are uncomfortable with what is going on around you or what you are asked to do, please discuss the situation with your supervisor.

14. Notes FAC bathrooms need to be checked periodically for family members who may choose that place to grieve…. FAC Quiet Spaces accommodate one-on-one conversations with family members. You can bring family member(s) to Quiet Spaces so that: You can hear each other They have some privacy They have safe space in which to grieve

15. Respite Centers Population: • Uniformed personnel • Construction workers • Volunteers Themes: • Rescue and recovery • Focus on mission • Predominantly male environment Photo courtesy of FDNY Photo Unit

16. Respite Centers The purpose of a Respite Center is to provide a safe space and support for the workers on the site, in their efforts to rescue/recover victims and/or property. A Respite Center is a place for the workers (mainly men) to gear down for a while before they go back out to resume their task.

17. Morgues Population: • Victims • Medical examiners • Morgue team • Emergency Medical Services (EMS) • Police • Chaplains Themes: • Death • Bodies, body parts • Respect for the dead • Cohesiveness around identifying victims Photo courtesy of FDNY Photo Unit

18. Two Kinds of Morgues In large disasters: Main morgue – in NYC, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) at Bellevue Temporary Morgue(s) (T-Mort) at the scene of the disaster

19. The Morgue American Red Cross may or may not be here, depending on resources and assignments.

20. Second Objective: Death Notification Team will include Medical Examiner (ME), Department of Mental Health (DMH), Chaplain ME leads Be present! ME will ask if the family needs anything else – if no, will usually leave you with family member(s) Take your time Ask if they want a prayer

21. NYC Death Notification Plan of Care Find out how they are getting home. Find out where they will be that night and who will be with them. Ask if they are worried about any person in the family. If children are involved, bring in child specialists ASAP. Use Police Department (PD) as messengers, if necessary; stay with family unless they want to be by themselves. When they are ready, escort them to the door and into PD vehicle.

22. Morgue Blessings (T-Mort) Check in with Medical Examiner (ME) when you report to T-Mort. Work out with the ME when to bless remains. Stay close but out of the way. Remember that the disaster may be a crime scene. Keep your prayers and blessings brief. Your prayers are important to those present and convey respect for the dead.

23. ARC Death Notification Death notification teams The DMH/Supervisor at the FAC will coordinate with the appropriate representative from the coroner’s office to determine American Red Cross (ARC) involvement and procedures. The ARC does not deliver death notifications. DMH and/or SC staff, however, often accompany those that do. Notification teams need to have specific training. DMH and SC need to agree to restrictions placed on the team before they can be assigned. Makeup of teams: Coroner's office representative, airline representative, DMH staff member, SC provides member (if family has expressed a religious preference). Families may request a DMH and/or SC worker who has been working with the family. If this is the case this request should be honored. Additional DMH and SC staff with the desired expertise should be available as needed. Prefer well‑experienced DMH and SC personnel with specific training in death and dying and/or grieving. Need to have child specialists available. SRT Participant’s Guide, pp. 72-73.

24. Photo courtesy of FDNY Photo Unit

25. Disaster Site Characteristics Population: Construction workers Uniformed personnel OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Themes: Safety Body recoveries – construction workers and uniformed personnel looking for both uniformed and civilian victims Clearing the site

26. If Brought on Site You are there at the invitation of the service that brought you. None of the workers on site will let you go anywhere that is not safe. You are serving under their direction. You will follow their instructions and guidance. Once there, look for the highest ranking officer who is in charge of the removal and introduce yourself. Ask what you should do to help. Make eye contact with other workers and greet them personally.

27. Photo courtesy of FDNY Photo Unit

28. Line of Duty Deaths Points to consider: Effects on all uniformed personnel Respect given by all MOS (Member of Service) Concern for members’ families Jurisdiction Ceremony Chaplain’s role and function

29. Protocolfor Line of Duty Deaths Honor Detail Uncover Prayer Recover Lead body or bodies through detail to ambulance Uncover Prayer at ambulance Bless bodies in ambulance Recover

30. Liturgy: for the Living Honors their dead Sanctifies their work Reinforces that protocol has been followed

31. Post On-Site Liturgy Find the Chief Officer who directed you and say thank you See if there is more you might be needed for later Thank those who bore the body Go back to the morgue for prayers there Do not be a tourist

32. Third Objective: Uniformed Personnel Cultures FDNY EMS NYPD PAPD (Port Authority Police Department) Corrections Sanitation Military

33. Uniform Dynamics In general, the uniformed services: Are there to serve others. Each have a different dynamic and ethos Demonstrate (overall) sense of unity (“the brotherhood”). Will accept you as belonging with them by virtue of your being there. Generally respect and appreciate chaplains, though they may not say so directly. Hold uniformed chaplains in high regard. Your office is generally respected; give the respect back to them.

34. Meals with Uniforms Coffee and meals are social interactions (FDNY). If invited to have coffee or a meal, sit down and join them. Be respectful. Contribute your share of the conversation. By helping recreate their normal environment, you will be restoring structure to the site.

35. Fourth Objective: Response Plan • Create a spiritual response plan for the scenario assigned to your team from Attachment E. • Role-play your scenario and see if your plan works. • If it doesn’t, go with what is happening in the role-play and let it play itself out. • Once it’s over, critique your team’s plan. • Explore what worked and what didn’t work for the person role-playing the principle character, and for the other members of your team. • Report to the class what you learned during this exercise.

36. Access You will be given access to a disaster site: Only through an accrediting agency Only when scheduled Security will be tight – You will need to have your badge with you.

37. Badges and Identification Are essential. No one goes to any site uncredentialed or uninvited.

38. Be Prepared!Chaplains’ Support Materials Appropriate clothing, including hat and gloves, if necessary Water Snack bars Imodium (anti-diarrhetic) if necessary Prayer book from your tradition for your use only NO tracts, pamphlets, handouts, other than those provided/approved by the accrediting agency

39. Resources for Chaplains Internal prayer Your own tradition to support you, remembering the spiritual and religious diversity of where you are going.

40. Fifth Objective: Making a Difference What is it like? • Please listen to letters 1 and 2 in Attachment F: “What I Wish I Had Known”

41. Objectives Review In this module, you will: • Gain familiarity with disaster response facilities in which chaplains serve • Understand how to do a death notification • Gain insight into the culture of uniformed personnel • Create a spiritual response plan and evaluate its effectiveness for at least one scenario • See that your presence makes a difference