This month we are reaching another milestone as the Foundation announces the FAERF Institute--an educational program aimed at bringing greater awareness to the field of humanitarian assistance to those who respond to survivors of workplace trauma. Amid the pandemic, the Foundation turned twenty years old this past November. Still grappling with the Coronavirus's uncertainty, the Foundation forges ahead and breaks new ground with the Institute's founding.
There is a saying in emergency management that 'we plan for the worst and hope for the best.' Experience has taught us the value of planning while knowing that we are preparing for what we hope never happens; the preparation helps us handle the predictable and gives us energy to face that which was not. Looking back over the past twenty years, we have many examples to remind us of this.
A Few Facts About the Foundation's Beginnings
November 2020 marked the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Family Assistance Foundation. In 2003, the Foundation became a non-profit, 501-C3 organization; the name became the Family Assistance Education & Research Foundation (FAERF) to represent our growing mission. Both names informally referred to as ‘the Foundation’ are used interchangeably and trademarked with the heart/wing logo. April 2021, the Foundation officially kicks off the FAERF Institute.
…none of us could have foreseen the events that would cause the postponement of our first symposium scheduled for September 17-18, 2001.
As education and training are a significant focus of our work at the Foundation, leaders began to plan for the first symposium shortly after its first Board meeting in the fall of 2000. Just as no one could have predicted the pandemic and its enormous impact on our world--none of us could have foreseen the events that would cause the postponement of our first symposium scheduled for September 17-18, 2001.
While the world stopped as we assisted and supported those hit hardest by the 9/11 attacks, we knew it would be years before the impact would be fully understood--much less integrated. Unable to wait for the lessons that we knew would be forthcoming from the families and responders, the Foundation carried on with its mission. The first symposium was rescheduled and took place in Atlanta, GA., in January of 2002.
Four Interdisciplinary Workshops
The meetings' format met with high praise from representatives of the companies and agency personnel who attended, and plans for a symposium for 2003 immediately began. Other community leaders who attended saw the presentations from survivors and responders alike as valuable, leading to other workshops that first year. The Foundation hosted four interdisciplinary workshops in 2002 co-sponsored by the American Red Cross, airports, and other response organizations. The workshops took place in Los Angeles, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Minneapolis, MN., and Boston, MA.
Sharing the Journey™, Volume 1, Issue 1
In January 2002, the Foundation's newsletter also became a reality. The newsletter's name, Sharing the Journey, represents the unity experienced by the company employees, community responders, and all specific workplace trauma survivors. The first issue details the Foundation's plans, and true to our mission, includes writings from survivors and employee (care team) responders. Additional issues published that first year continued to provide insight from survivors, care team members, and mental health professionals.
