Providing Comfort in a Time of Need: FEMA's Community Relations Teams Reach Out at the Pentagon

Like many FEMA Disaster Assistance Employees (DAE), John Sheehan knew he might be called on September 11. The Dallas, Pa., resident prepared himself for the daunting task.

"I'm used to working tough disasters," says Sheehan. "I operate on adrenaline."

Instead, it was his softer touch that was needed in the days immediately following September 11. Sheehan was one of FEMA's 60 DAEs assigned to address the needs of those left behind when a plane tore into the Pentagon, claiming 184 lives.

A ballroom at a nearby hotel was turned into a Family Assistance Center, where federal, state, local, and voluntary agencies set up shop.

As a community relations specialist in a typical disaster, Sheehan oversees and manages a team of FEMA DAEs who go door-to-door, handing out information about available disaster assistance and making sure everyone who needs help is getting it. After the attack on the World Trade Center, community relations workers blanketed downtown Manhattan, handing out fliers in as many as two dozen languages.

Since a majority of the victims at the Pentagon site were in the military, they didn't need much outside assistance, says Sheehan. But emotional support was something else.

"It reminded me of the old adage: You don't leave the battlefield without making sure everyone is accounted for," says Sheehan. "The way the military handled everything was incredible. They really took care of their own when it came to financial and emergency needs. My job turned out to be providing a kind and friendly face. I was a willing listener who allowed family members to express their grief."

"John was great with the families," says Lt. General John A. Van Alstyne, the U.S. Army officer in charge of the Family Assistance Center. "Whatever needed to get done, he was the guy to go to. Thirty-five years of Army service prepares you for everything, but I was not prepared for that number of people in crisis. It was a challenge to bring a staff together to handle this within hours, something that is old hat for FEMA."

Everything at the Family Assistance Center revolved around making the families feel as comfortable as possible. Memorials for the victims were set up on tables with photos, poems, and fresh flowers. A daycare center was put in place and therapy dogs were brought in and sat for hours, letting everyone pet them.

"Most of the families just wanted to talk about their loved ones," says Sheehan. "The father of one young woman who died wanted to talk about what a wonderful person she was and how much her little girl was going to miss her. He became well known at the center for helping other families."

Sheehan was thankful to be there. "Working at the Pentagon was the most emotional and honorable experience of my life."