Mission
The Niagara Grief Center's Mission is to provide sustained emotional support to people of all ages affected by sudden traumatic death and grief.
History
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, communities throughout the United States have renewed their concern with the immediate and long-term impacts of sudden, traumatic death. There is a need to prepare and strengthen support services for survivors and witnesses victimized by violent events. Whether the incident is a fire with fatalities, a school shooting, a suicide, a person killed by a drunk driver, or a terrorist attack, the arena of grief is wide, and response systems need to be efficient and appropriate.
In 2003, the Niagara Behavioral Healthcare Network (NBHN) submitted a proposal to the Virginia Mason Medical Center, in conjunction with the Federal Office for Victims of Crime, to formulate a community approach for responding to incidents of sudden traumatic grief and loss. The application was one of five nationally accepted for a pilot project to develop protocols for community response to traumatic incidents, in this case specifically in Niagara County, New York.
The Niagara BHN subsequently established a Grief and Loss Subcommittee, whose first task was to identify community partners that encompassed not only service providers, but law enforcement groups, clergy, first responders, coroners, hospital personnel, EMTs, legislative representatives, businesses, schools, and others who might be contacted. Research conducted in 2004 for the Grief and Loss Subcommittee showed that protocols were in place for debriefing first responders, usually professional personnel, in traumatic events. However, protocols for responding to the victim(s) were not fully coordinated among the many counseling resources and health services in Niagara County. To support continued development of the Niagara Grief Center, the Grief and Loss Committee of the Niagara Behavioral Healthcare Network requested a grant in 2004 from the office of Senator George D. Maziarz (R-Newfane) of the 62 nd Senate District. The grant request was generously supported by Senator Maziarz, allowing the Committee to proceed with assessment research on gaps and needs in trauma counseling, education, and training programs.
In December 2004, the Grief and Loss Committee reached an agreement with the director of the M.A. in Applied Medical Anthropology track at the University at Buffalo to conduct the research. A research protocol titled "Community Response to Traumatic Grief and Loss: Needs and Gaps Assessment Research in Niagara County" was developed and submitted initially to the Grief and Loss Subcommittee in December, 2004, and then in January, 2005, to the Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board at UB for ethical review. On February 15, the protocol was approved and permission was given to begin the research.
According to the 2000 Vital Statistics provided by the New York State Department of Health, there were 83 reported deaths in Niagara County attributed to homicide, suicide, DWI fatalities, arson, and accidental deaths (motorized vehicle accidents, drowning, etc.) for the year ending December 31, 2000. This relatively "low" number does not clearly represent the hundreds of individuals whose lives are affected by these sudden and traumatic deaths. It is this larger group of individuals who would benefit from the Grief Center Services.
An assessment of gaps and needs in services to victims of traumatic grief and loss in Niagara County, New York was carried out by a team of medical anthropologists from March 2005 to February 2006. In-depth interviews were conducted with 58 individuals. Information collected included personal narratives of the incident, description of services used, listing of met and unmet needs in various time frames after the death, and survey responses to questions about the Grief Center being developed.
In addition to describing the impact of a loss, each participant was asked to name or describe those individuals who were particularly impacted by the loss, how they were affected and how long, and what helped them. The numbers of people described per interviewee ranged from 0 to 24. In addition to our primary sample of 58 interviewees, data on an additional 281 individuals create a secondary and larger database on impacts of traumatic death experienced by children, teenage and adult siblings, grandparents, other relatives, and friends of the bereaved person.
Findings indicate that services for traumatic grief are available, but with low visibility and mostly on a short-term basis. Services for crime victims are of longer duration and are generally more helpful than services available for families losing a loved one to accidents, suicide, or sudden natural death.
Eighty-two percent of the people interviewed agreed that a Grief Center would have been helpful at the time of their loss and would have liked contact from the Center. Forty-three percent agreed that a Grief Center would be helpful to them now, and 51% of those whose loss occurred in the last three years agreed it would be helpful now. Seventy-three percent said they would be willing to help others at a Grief Center.
Interviewee recommendations include provision of legal and financial advice; informal support groups of people with similar losses; publication and dissemination of contact information; outreach; and programs for increased DWI awareness and suicide prevention. Research Team Recommendations include establishment of a community advisory board made up in part of families who have experienced traumatic grief; transition from a volunteer staff to paid staff; development of age-appropriate grief services for children and teens; and scheduling of retreats to establish and strengthen a therapeutic community with spiritual as well as social components.
In March, 2006 Grief Share was initiated in Niagara Falls, New York. Grief Share is a series of bereavement support group sessions for adults who are coping with grief following the death of someone they care about. NBHN and the Grief and Loss Committee are committed to designing and implementing supports for those grieving the loss of someone through trauma death. |
