Adapting Old Plans for New Crises

After Sept. 11, many children in America suddenly felt unsafe. Some pleaded with their parents not to fly; others reacted by wetting the bed or becoming withdrawn. But for children living in urban neighborhoods plagued with violence, such fears and reactions weren't new. 

"Many of the children in East Baltimore have direct experience with the loss of life and with observing multiple shootings, which can have the same sort of randomness that the terrorist attacks had," says Phil Leaf, PhD, a professor in the Department of Mental Hygiene. "If there were a terrorist attack in Baltimore, we'd probably use the same mechanisms to respond to it that we use in the wake of a shooting. In fact, the capacity to help children respond to terrorism might be better in Baltimore because we've been forced to help them deal with violence."

Leaf is executive director of the Baltimore Child Development-Community Policing Program, an agency that trains mental health professionals, police officers, and community residents to provide crisis response intervention for children and teens exposed to urban violence. Immediately after a child has been involved in a violent crime — as victim, perpetrator, or witness — a clinician, a police officer, and a community representative respond. "The whole idea is, one, to restore a sense of safety. And, two, to help them begin to process and tell their stories," says Rev. Willie Armstrong, the program director.

After that first visit, the team creates a response plan, which often includes contacting agencies, preparing a referral, or providing additional short-term counseling. Kamala Alark, a psychological clinician with the project, reports that the children she counseled after Sept. 11 exhibited symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder — just as they do after witnessing violence."Children are [now] easily startled by planes, just like they're startled by gunshots," she says. "They're concerned about being up high in buildings. They're fearful and paranoid. Some young people in the city who had a relationship with violence already said they feel like people can now understand what they go through every day."

Leaf notes that it's not just urban schools and communities that have crisis intervention plans that could be adapted to respond to terrorism. In the wake of Columbine and other incidents of school violence, many schools have created methods of disseminating information and resources, and have trained teachers and counselors to react to violence. 

"We have a lot of things in place," says Leaf, "and now we must think about using them for situations we never dreamed of."