On September 11, 2001, the world stood by in horror as one of the icons of American culture fell in an avalanche of charred metal. On that day, parents and children, husbands and wives, people of every class, background and culture huddled around television screens, staring in horror at the constant barrage of images that were hypnotic in their sheer brutality and incomprehensible to those of us who grew up in the shadow of the magnificent New York skyline. Even today, America quakes at the thought of such terror violating its borders for the first time since Pearl Harbor. It was on September 11, 2001 that the real work began.

In the wake of 9/11, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, has dispersed over two million dollars in aid to the families and victims of the terrorist attacks. It became the mission of the Disaster Relief Program to assist anyone within the four counties of the Diocese whose life has been directly impacted by these events. In the days immediately following the attacks, the 108 parishes within Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties provided Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, with $500,000 collected from their parishioners, to assist families of the September 11th victims. Catholic Charities USA provided an additional $1,010,000 of aid. The United Way of Central Jersey and the United Way of Somerset, who contracted with Catholic Charities to act as the lead agency in their efforts in those areas of New Jersey, provided over half a million dollars of additional funding. Thanks to such widespread generosity of spirit, the disaster relief team was able to distribute this money to aid families in need, regardless of race or religious background.

In addition to monetary assistance, 25 caseworkers were assigned to meet with families and provide support with the necessities of rebuilding a life in the face of such all-encompassing devastation. The caseworkers provided in-home visits, case management services and referrals to other agencies who might better meet each person's specific needs.

America continues to ask how this could have happened and wonders what will happen next. Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, continues to respond to those questions and others with a strong hand and caring heart.

Disaster Relief
In addition to the work done for the families and victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks and the victims of Hurricane Floyd, the program now works with the state's Family Advocacy Program to provide ongoing case management to the families in Middlesex and Somerset Counties who lost loved ones in these events.