25 years after Sept. 11 tragedy, STAR program still shines

Tom Smucker still regards responding to the Sept. 11 attacks 25 years ago one of the toughest responses he ever led for Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS).

Then MDS executive director—and now retired but still volunteering for MDS—Smucker analyzes why the aftermath became so difficult: “There was no blueprint,” he said. “There was no pattern—what do you do?”

Terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes in a coordinated suicide attack against the United States, killing 2,977 people. At first the event was so unthinkable that it stunned even the most experienced disaster responders across the nation—MDS included.

“We could not do cleanup in that situation, so we began to ask what we could do for the human element,” said Smucker.

Ultimately the MDS response centered around emotional and financial help. Today, one of the positive legacies from that difficult time is the Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR), an evidence-based training program offered by Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) that teaches people how to understand trauma, stop cycles of violence, and build healing resilience.

A different path

In 2001, Rick Augsburger was serving as Director of Emergency Programs for Church World Service. He would come to work closely with not only MDS but other faith-based disaster response groups who would contribute financial resources, expertise, and their own yearning for healing to get the STAR program off the ground.

“The entire domestic disaster response community up until that point was focused on physical loss, whether it was houses, roofs, shelters, water, clothing,” recalled Augsburger. “That was the model and we all had our roles in that model.”

When Church World Service, MDS and the other groups tried to apply that model, it didn’t fit. Would they send blankets? No. Tarps? No. The questions went on and on.“We had to figure out how to respond in a different way,” said Augsburger, who had engaged in past conversations with EMU in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. “We needed something that could provide resources to community leaders and equip them.”

Faith-based disaster responders slowly realized that the entire nation was traumatized—even their own staff. As EMU faculty put together the STAR program, Augsburger approached faith-based disaster response groups for contributions to the effort. “On that first call I had pledges of over $2 million,” he said. “It was a major paradigm shift from physical support to psychosocial support.”

The response—and the STAR program—forever changed disaster response for many groups. Psychosocial support became a facet of response that was here to stay.

Listening deeply

Paul Unruh, an MDS leader in 2001, recalls the very first decision: that there would be no response to the Sept. 11 attacks. It didn’t stick. “MDS got more donations than any disaster in prior history,” said Unruh. “That enabled us to play a significant role with the development of the STAR program as well.”

Ultimately the formation of STAR began with responders asking three questions to traumatized people: How has this event harmed you? How can we address that harm together? What would bring you a sense of hope?

“That took us into the recognition of trauma and trauma reduction,” said Unruh. “STAR had us go beyond where we usually think—addressing harm that’s not physical.”

Unruh believes EMU is still a wonderful home for the STAR program—and he also believes that the foundation of STAR was already woven into the hearts of many MDS volunteers.

“Really, perhaps STAR had its birth in the hearts of ‘ordinary’ MDSers who paid attention to the survivors of the tornado, of the flood, of the fire,” said Unruh. “We really need to credit our parents and grandparents for setting us up to be able to hear that message and to understand the sensibilities of a program like STAR.”

Twenty-five years later, STAR is still changing lives. “I think there are now STAR graduates in more than 30 countries,” said Unruh. “At one point, some of the graduates were credited with stopping a war in Africa.”

Unruh will never forget what it felt like to sit at the table and explore the possibilities of a different sort of response—one that could start a healing process. “What a wonderful collaboration it was,” he said. “Together, we became much more.”

By Susan Kim