Disaster Response Organization HEART 9/11 Leads Stress Reduction Program for Sandy Survivors

HEART 9/11, a disaster response organization dedicated to facilitating physical and emotional recovery after traumatic events, is offering an eight-week Resilience Boot Camp course for residents of Gerritsen Beach and the surrounding area who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

The program, which is free of charge, will teach mindfulness and stress reduction skills to better manage traumatic situations and improve resilience.

Weekly sessions will take place at the Gerritsen Beach Fire Department “Vollies,” 52 Seba Avenue, every Thursday from March 27 to May 22, 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Once trained, community members will be able to offer the program in their own community to others on an on-going basis.

“With the number of natural disasters on the rise, this is an important step to creating permanent improvements in the psychological health of individuals, families and communities impacted by disaster,” said Dr. Leo Flanagan, HEART 9/11’s, director of Community Resilience.

Resilience Boot Camp’s benefits to participants include:

• Increased well-being and happiness
• Ability to set and achieve goals that are important to you
• Reduce feelings of stress and negative memories
• Recovery from cognitive, emotional stress, and social stress impacts of traumatic events
• Improved behavioral and physical health post-disaster

To register for Resilience Boot Camp, email katiechace@heart911.org or call (862) 902-5471 extension 101. For more information, visit www.heart911.org.