CERMT and UAE relief efforts in New York

On September 11, 2001 a horrific act of violence things changed forever in this country.

However the world did not stop. Search and Rescue became Search and Recovery and four and a months later the work continues.

On November 3rd, 2001 the Carolina Emergency Response Massage Team(CERMT) and the United Aromatherapy Effort (UAE) made the first trip to New York to help the firefighters, Police Officers, Equipment operators etc. who worked day in and day out to locate the dead, and to clear the rubble.

Five team members gave over Three hundred and fifty chair massages to Fire Fighters, Police Officers, Social Workers, Rescue Workers, Equipment Operators etc. They also handed out $5000 worth of supplies, much of it donated by the Aromatherapy community.

Sylla Sheppard-Hangar recorded some of her impressions when she got back and this is how she describes Ground Zero and what they saw during their first trip;

"Ground zero is a very toxic place; soon as subway doors open-blocks away, you can smell it (awful plastic burning chemical smell, and something else, nothing like I have ever smelled) and then once up in air a hazy mist all around. 

They have narrowed the perimeter so you can get block away from the 'pile' - throngs of people walking by, looking, feeling, being there...almost like a toxic tourist trap (I hated seeing babies and kids without masks...). 

We sprayed our masks but our lungs still burned, and I’m still coughing (a week later). The huge cathedral St Peters wasn’t touched, yet was immediately next to towers, the chunks are still on the columns and they are leaving it there as a memorial- lots of flowers, flags, etc out front. A touching place.

The fire station near our hotel called the Pride of Manhattan, lost all members on duty that day- 17, and its a shrine too, covered in black cloth, flowers, pictures from kids cover the walls. "

"We worked on they guys there- they were from the Brooklyn station, filling in for the unit who have to attend the memorial services for the lost ones. 

The Brooklyn station called the Castle is largest in Brooklyn (10000 NYC firefighters, 6,000in Brooklyn alone) and we were invited to stay there next trip- they said we could live there for week, eat, etc- they work 2-24 hour shifts, then off for 4 days- so we could get all them, and move out from there.

These guys have not stopped for 2 months- until now. 

The Fire Marshal of Brooklyn came to meet us one night in the pub. He took off 3 hours to come over- said it was first time he'd sat in bar in 2 months. 

Hearing their stories were incredible- many of them just needed to talk, they are just now starting to deal with it, so I’m so glad we can help. 

The next month through the holidays are going to be especially tough, as they now are back to duty since Ground Zero is a construction site, and the heavy picking thru is done at the Staten Island land fill. They have begun to grieve.

Our hotel neighbors included 50 or more Firefighters from Vancouver- here to give $600,000 they raised (they all took out loans) to give to the families of firefighters- they are very tight group and taught us some code words they use. 

They are sending numbers thru December attending funerals and ceremonies showing up in numbers to give the NY guys breaks. 

I have an entire new appreciation of our heroes the firefighters, never realizing what an awesome team they are, and how they feel the losses of any of their brothers, anywhere. A VERY special group those firefighters and my, oh my, do those uniforms look nice... :-) Our Heroes..."

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