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Counselors reach out to those in distress
Friday, March 03, 2000 By Sally Kalson, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Counselors and social workers answered telephones all Wednesday night and fanned out to schools, churches and homes yesterday, attempting to help people in distress over the shootings in Wilkinsburg.
"Teams are being dispatched right now," said Anita White, prevention education manager at the Center for Victims of Violent Crime. White and other staffers have been trained by the National Organization for Victim Assistance, or NOVA, in techniques of crisis response.
"We've been on the phone all night and early this morning doing counseling," White said yesterday. Some callers wanted help in talking to their children about the violence of Wednesday; others needed help for themselves in dealing with the trauma of something so terrible happening so close to home.
NOVA volunteers also were going to private homes in the area where residents had requested a visit, and some were dispatched to the noon Mass at St. Mary of Mercy Church, Downtown, for mourners who might need help.
Pupils arriving at East Hills International Studies Academy via school bus were distraught over the killing of Joseph Healy, the beloved storyteller who had been scheduled to ride with them yesterday.
One little boy clutched a copy of the newspaper with Healy's picture inside.
The children were met by a guidance counselor, Bernice Tesfamariam, who ushered them into the cafeteria to talk about their feelings.
"They had a lot of questions about how such a thing could happen," Tesfamariam said. "They wanted to know where 'Mr. Joe' was killed, and why anyone would want to shoot other people just because of their race.
"I explained this was a very sick and troubled person who did this, and how important it is for us to appreciate each other for our differences as well as our similarities."
Tesfamariam got the children talking about their fond remembrances of Healy, about keeping themselves safe, about how "stuffing" their emotions can lead to violent eruptions, and the importance of talking about their feelings with adults who care about them.
Another 10 children came to see her during the day for individual talks, she said.
The Allegheny Intermediate Unit also sent teams to the various Head Start programs around the county where Healy was a familiar presence among the preschoolers.
Sue Deriso and Jim Bozigar went to the class near the crime scene, bringing printed material for the staff and parents and talking to the children in language 3- and 4-year-olds could understand.
"Some were tearful and others were afraid," Deriso said.
"They experienced the double trauma of a shooting in their neighborhood and losing someone they loved in the incident."
The children decided to make something for Healy's family and put all their names on it.
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