Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, we’re looking back on Safe Horizon’s role in the incredibly complex emergency response that occurred and the impact it had on our services, families of victims, our clients, and more. In the days and months that followed the attacks, New Yorkers showed up for one another. Across neighborhoods, cultures, faiths, languages, and backgrounds, people reached out to help and built powerful networks of care. We saw moments that showed the best of us: strangers caring for strangers, communities caring for each other, and people finding ways to keep going together.
Safe Horizon was a big part of that story. Because we had been providing services to survivors of violence since 1978, we were uniquely qualified to provide emergency assistance in the immediate aftermath. The city funded the immediate crisis response needed on the ground, investing in trauma informed crisis care like never before. Through the unknowns of the crisis response, we quickly emerged as a leader in mobilizing services for families of victims looking for resources, direction, and support.
We were called on by the city to provide crisis support—and over four years, Safe Horizon connected with 55,000 individuals and organizations, worked with dozens of relief organizations at the Lexington Avenue Armory, Pier 94, Manhattan Borough Assistance Center, and the Chambers Street Disaster Assistance Service Center, and distributed approximately $250 million in direct relief.
Whilewe played a pivotal role in coordinating relief efforts not only at the Lexington Avenue Armory and at Pier 94, staff from our Community Programs, Criminal Justice Programs, Hotlines, and Finance teams also answered calls, opened their doors, distributed funds, and helped people navigate unimaginable loss while offering practical help to begin the long work of healing.
Below we share reflections from Maureen Curtis, Vice President of Criminal Justice Programs, and Vilma Torres, Director of the Manhattan Family Justice Center, who were both on staff at the time and both worked on the ground to support survivors of the 9/11 attacks.
Q: You were both at Pier 94 supporting survivors in the days and weeks following 9/11—what was that like?
Maureen: It became a mini-city of government services—it was amazing. We were the lead agency that helped survivors and surviving family members of those killed during the attack navigate all of these services, whether it was governmental, nonprofit, spiritual—everybody was there, but it still had to be navigated. It was chaotic in the first several days and weeks—people came in and didn’t know where their loved ones were, if they were still alive. But they would be embraced with compassion and care that was trauma-focused and client-centered, and would be connected to whatever service they needed right on-site.
Vilma: It really felt that the world was chaotic, but at the pier, you felt listened to, you felt compassion, you were nurtured, you were fed, and you were provided with information. That was so key.
Q: How did your existing work at Safe Horizon, with clients who had experienced violence and trauma, equip you with the sensitivity needed to work in that environment?
Vilma: You never said someone had died, even if they said their loved one was on the 114th floor of Tower 1, and you knew they weren’t here anymore. You would say, “So what brings you here today is that they’re missing. Okay, so let’s focus on that.” Being mindful of the language is so important in our work and something that we take great pride in. We know the importance of mirroring survivors’ language. It stayed with me, that we never used the word killed.
Q: The work you were doing and what you saw must have taken a toll—how did the city and fellow responders promote care and self-care for responders?
Maureen: There were a lot of services for the providers, recognizing that this work was taking its toll. I can’t say enough about how much this was appreciated—to know that someone cared about you as you care for others. Massages, meditation, and even celebrities visiting. Mohammad Ali was there; Bette Midler came and sang to us.
Vilma: Someone would come up to me and say, “Hey Vilma, you’ve been doing this for eight hours—have you eaten?”I appreciated that, because you could really get in the zone of your work. You’d work with one person, and then move on to the next, and you’d really need someone to acknowledge you and pull you out, say that you needed a break, to sit down, to eat.
Q: This experience created a special unity at Safe Horizon, whether staff were working on the front lines supporting families of 9/11 attack victims, or continuing to run programs for existing clients across the five boroughs. How did it feel to be at the agency at this time?
Maureen: This was a concerted effort of all of Safe Horizon. I think of everybody who continued working at our programs. Not only were they dealing with fewer staff—but ongoing violence didn’t end. Some clients felt an imbalance in attention around 9/11—that their harm and hurt didn’t matter to the city. Our staff did an amazing job managing that, continuing to run programs with fewer staff and being able to address the additional trauma our clients felt. None of our work for the survivors of 9/11 could have happened if not for all the work done by staff who continued the work in our programs and continued to provide client-centered and compassionate services for all of our clients.
Twenty-five years later, the impact of our experience helping people find safety and healing during and after September 11, 2001, continues to be part of Safe Horizon’s work. What we did at Pier 94 and across the city reinforced what has always been at the heart of our approach: meeting people where they are, listening to what they need, and responding with compassion in moments of profound uncertainty and trauma. We are reminded that in the aftermath of crisis, being present, listening, and helping people navigate what comes next is what makes a difference. That commitment remains central to who we are today.