9/11 United Services Group

The 9/11 United Services Group (USG) was formed in December 2001 to facilitate, expedite, and enhance coordination of services among various charities and agencies in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. USG was organized on the basis of a late 2001 study conducted by the September 11th Fund outlining the need for service coordination in the wake of a large scale disaster. The September 11th Fund, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and Safe Horizon were responsible for spearheading this collaborative charitable response. USG was partially funded by the September 11th Fund with the remainder of their operating budget provided by private donations. USG did not work directly with victims, and was entirely focused on helping charitable groups coordinate and focus their efforts. USG operated from December 2001 through June 2004, when major relief efforts concluded.

USG was composed of a small core staff, whose efforts were aided by representatives from member organizations. The USG Board of Directors included individuals from many different disciplines. Among those who served on the Board were the heads of USG's thirteen founding member organizations, as well as victims and others affected by the events of 9/11. The group's finance committee oversaw the internal budget, and a nominating committee was formed to assist with filling board positions as they came open. Committees and workgroups within the USG hierarchy were composed of a mixture of USG and member organization staff.

The founding member organizations included the American Red Cross, the Asian American Federation of New York, Black Agency Executives, Inc., The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, Catholic Charities Diocese of Brooklyn, the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, the Hispanic Federation, the Mental Health Association of New York City, Safe Horizon, The Salvation Army, UJA-Federation of New York, and the United Neighborhood Houses of New York.

The 9/11 United Services Group was structured to facilitate cross-training of staff. The staff worked to assist individuals who were eligible for public programs, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster housing assistance and New York State unemployment assistance. In addition, USG trained "Service Coordinators" from all thirteen member organizations who worked directly with people who had been affected on a long-term basis. Service Coordinators provided casework services to clients including assessment, counseling, crisis intervention, service referral and advocacy, with the goal of a personal recovery plan for each client. Service Coordinator training consisted of workshops and drills covering conflict resolution, mental health support, and cultural diversity, as well as simulations of real-life scenarios that volunteers might encounter. The training was run by USG staff and volunteers, and was often conducted on the premises of member organizations. Training was ongoing throughout USG's operation.

All USG member organizations could be reached through the Safe Horizon September 11th Support Hotline. Service coordination efforts were led by USG's Service Coordination steering committee. To brainstorm ways to help underserved individuals, they also formed the Committee for Serving Undocumented Clients.

The service coordinators from each agency had access to the comprehensive victims database (DataMart), which helped agencies identify where assistance was needed and who was receiving which services. USG's technology unit worked closely with pro bono assistance from IBM to create the DataMart database, which organized the information of 83,000 victims and allowed Service Coordinators from every participating agency to align their efforts. Service Coordinators were given database training, and signed confidentiality agreements before commencing work. The Technology Working Group was the unit responsible for keeping the DataMart and other USG technology initiatives up-to-date.

To help manage this operation, USG created its Information Portal, which encompassed an online assistance guide, a community website for 9/11 United Service Group Service Coordinators, an online newsletter, a separate public website, and a constantly updating online referral system. This portal allowed USG to ensure everyone was receiving a standard level of updated information. All changes made to guides and referrals were immediately implemented in the portal, removing the need to send out constant change notifications. All staff referred to online guides only when assessing the needs of victims, assuring that everyone was working from the same set of standards. Likewise, the information available to victims and their families was also updated immediately and consolidated in one place, providing access to the most current requirements and deadlines.

The 9/11 United Services Group also focused on advocacy and community relations. They planned community events such as walks and town hall style meetings, and brainstormed ways to reach the underserved such as undocumented immigrants, low income workers, and day laborers, whose employment loss due to 9/11 was not easy to report. An important component of USG's advocacy work was the Advisory Council. This council consisted of fourteen individuals representing a range of communities affected by the September 11th attacks, including some of the victims' families. Their meetings were designed to help USG understand the evolving needs of the victims so as to better advocate on their behalf. Assistance was also provided for individuals seeking financial aid from FEMA or other government agencies.

USG launched their Financial Advice Referral Program to offer pro bono financial education, planning, and investment advice to people who lost a family member or were seriously injured in the September 11th attacks. This program was designed to help victims and their families manage the large compensatory funds they received. Organizations involved included American Express, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Prudential Financial, and Salomon Smith Barney.

As part of USG's mission to help meet the short- and long-term needs of those affected by the September 11th attacks, USG worked with McKinsey & Company between March and May 2002 to undertake a study of victims' ongoing needs. The goal of the study was to analyze the overall economic and emotional effects of September 11th on various New York City populations. The study concluded with a formal report that member organizations used to focus and update their relief efforts. The study was managed by USG's Unmet Needs Workgroup, a mixture of USG and organizational member staff.

The Framework for the Coordinated Delivery of Social Services in Future Major Emergencies, abbreviated by USG as "Framework", was a major report released by the Group in December of 2002. Through this report, USG offered a blueprint of how to set up coordinated relief efforts in the event of future emergencies, using lessons learned during the conception and operation of the 9/11 United Services Group. This report gave rise to meetings with FEMA, the New York State Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and many other service groups, both public and private. The Coordinated Assistance Network, a currently operational disaster recovery coordination group, grew out of these meetings in a partnership with other service groups, such as the American Red Cross and Safe Horizon. Until their dissolution in 2004, USG continued to work to improve and expand the national framework for disaster response.