Counseling in Schools responds to Port au Prince Earthquake aftershocks in Brooklyn Schools.
Counseling in Schools’ dispatched several of our highly trained counselors to New York City Public Schools in Brooklyn, NY at the urgent request of the Department of Education (DOE) on January 13, 2010 as news of the devastating earthquake in Port Au Prince, Haiti was reported. With a long history of responding to the social and emotional needs of students in this borough (23 of our current total of 41 school partners are located in Brooklyn) we were well positioned to respond immediately to schools overwhelmed by students and staff directly affected by the tragedy. Our capacity to be effective was strengthened by our Professional Development program which had provided School-Based Crisis Response Training to DOE personnel in Community Schools Districts 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22. We leveraged this expertise to immediately develop and implement site-specific crisis plans.
By the early afternoon on the 13th, a number of our highly trained staff deployed to multiple schools with out regular CSNN programming to begin staging efforts to help students and school staff cope with the traumatic shock that was emerging as the magnitude of the tragedy was being realized. During the week that followed, CSNN organized and dispatched 15 clinically trained staff members to provide support in 12 schools with no previous or current in-house CSNN programs. These 12 high and middle schools enroll approximately 4500 students of Haitian descent, a large percentage of who are recent immigrants to the United States.
Along with our deployment of crisis responders to schools previously unfamiliar to us, CSNN had 15 staff members already in place in partner schools that enroll high numbers of Haitian students. 7 schools– spanning grades K to 12 and representing approximately 1500 Haitian students - had the immediate benefit of our support.
Effective crisis response
New York City Public Schools leaders and CSNN collaborated with city administrators and various community stakeholders - including the American Red Cross and the New York Police Department – to provide well orchestrated responses to each school community impacted by this tragedy. The plans ensured that comprehensive resources, including clinically trained counselors, were available for all students and staff members in need of support.
The impact of this joint effort was evident when, a week later, the shock of the tragedy and the chaos experienced in the schools had quieted significantly. This improvement signaled the end of our counselors’ immediate relief efforts – sending those who were deployed to schools in crisis back to their regular assignments. However, we left knowing that this is far from the end of what students, staff and school communities will need to cope with life after the earthquake. The support (both large and small) that has been donated by so many people to give help to the people of Haiti has been truly incredible. We at CSNN hope that the citizens of the world will recognize and support the incredible need here at home, in the NYC schools.
