Helping Sept. 11 Survivors Cope

By Jon Melegrito

AFSCME's relief fund provides assistance to the families of our nine workers and spouses of two members.

A few days after the 2001 terrorist attacks, AFSCME set up the September 11 Relief Fund to assist members who were directly affected by the tragedy.

AFSCME raised $840,447, mostly donations from individual members and affiliate fundraisers. To date, families of 11 victims have each received $55,000.

Mr. Mom

For Sadig Rasool, a member of Local 1407 (DC 37), AFSCME's aid was "generous and timely." He lost his wife, Amenia, who worked at the World Trade Center. She left behind four very young children — the youngest only six months old.

"Emotionally, it's been extremely hard to give my kids the love and affection they always got from their mom," Rasool says. "The least I can do is ensure that their basic needs are met. I thank AFSCME for making it easier for me to go through the daily stress of being a single parent."

Carlos Lillo, a paramedic and a member of Local 2507 (DC 37) left behind a widow. "Months before Carlos died, we bought a house on Long Island," his wife Cecilia recalls. "It needed a lot of repairs, so Carlos and I spent our weekends together painting it. He also wanted to put in a new fence. I'm grateful to AFSCME for helping me complete the work."

Strong boost

Lena Dawson, a member of Local 372 (DC 37), says the fund has provided her family with "some financial security and stability," since her husband was killed. "I still have a mortgage to pay and an eight-year-old daughter to help through school," she says. "AFSCME's help — which I never expected — provided a strong boost emotionally. I was able to take a year's leave of absence from my job."

Joann Hrycak, who lost her husband Marty — a member of the Civil Service Employees Association(CSEA)/AFSCME Local 1000 — has been able to take care of home repairs as she braces for another cold winter. "AFSCME's assistance takes a lot of the burden off me," she says. "But I want to be self-sufficient again one day."

Adds Hrycak, referring to the Sept. 11 fund assistance, "It's not about the money. It's about people staying with you after all the others have gone away."

Assistant to President McEntee, Gloria T. Caoile — along with representatives of CSEA and DC 37 — personally visited each of the families. "It's very important not only to give them a check but to extend a warm hand and let them know that their sisters and brothers in AFSCME cared," says Caoile. "After all, we are family."