On June 1, 2015, VOICES launched a new research project in partnership with the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland and the Canadian Resource Center for Victims of Crime (CRCVC) in Ottawa, Ontario.
According to the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, about 60% of men and 50% of women will experience a traumatic event in their lifetime, and the numbers are even higher for members of the armed forces. Everyone deals with trauma differently, and not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will develop PTSD. However, up to 20% of individuals may. Not a week goes by without a report of another tragedy occurring in our country.
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the dedication of the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City. Since its opening last May, more than 2 million visitors from all 50 states and from around the world have toured the Museum. We are indebted to so many individuals who worked tirelessly over the years to accomplish a monumental task - preserving a site that is sacred ground to those who lost loved ones.
On Sunday, April 26, the VOICES staff was on hand for the Family Day celebration following the 9/11 Memorial 5K Run to Remember. At the VOICES tent, visitors created commemorative quilt squares to be added to the "In Memoriam" Quilt. Inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt - which was conceived to document the lives they feared history would neglect - VOICES created this project. Learn More.
On April 3, VOICES hosted our annual Resiliency Symposium at Rutgers Livingston Campus Student Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. Over 150 were in attendance, many participating for the first time. We were very fortunate to have accomplished professionals sharing their expertise in the field of trauma. Clearly, over 13 years after 9/11 there is still a need for information and access to long-term support services.