Our spirit is most vulnerable in times of crisis and often it suffers first, leaving emotional wounds that take a long time to heal. In the chaos of crisis search begins for a moment, for space, for respite. Our Chaplains are there to deliver Spiritual First Aid to those who find themselves dealing with a disaster.
Disaster Chaplaincy Services provides the spiritual and psychological first aid; crisis support to help people draw on spiritual resources in loss; spiritual care that respects the broad nature of each person’s spiritual tradition, responding and attending to the human meaning in times of loss; peer support to clergy and chaplains & first responders to ease compassion fatigue and burnout.
Disaster Chaplaincy Services provides educational assistance for religious/ professional/faith Leaders. We insure that our chaplains deliver skilled and interdisciplinary spiritual care in times of disasters, crises, and emergencies in the NY tri-state area.
Join the DCS Facebook page and be a part of our online community. Get the word out by inviting your friends to join the network and follow what is happening with Disaster Chaplaincy Services.
DCS Volunteer Chaplains have spent many hours over the last few months providing direct spiritual care and a ministry of presence for people in the greater New York area.
* Haitian Earthquake. Chaplains worked with the Haitian community at many locations in Brooklyn and Queens with one chaplain deployed to the USNS Comfort off the coast of Haiti (see above article).
* Winter snow storms required opening of shelters in Rockland and Orange Counties. DCS chaplains volunteered to work a number of shifts at these shelters, supporting those who were displaced from their homes due to the extensive power outages.
Thank you to everyone who worked on these incidents. A special thank you goes to Vince Porcelli, who was our On-call Leadership chaplain for these events.
Disaster Chaplaincy Services was invited to participate in a disaster exercise conducted by Air France at the JFK airport on March 11. Once again, DCS chaplains worked closely on this exercise with a team from our partner group, the American Red Cross in Greater New York (ARC-GNY).
Deacon Bob Gontcharuk, a chaplain and member of the DCS Leadership Team, was one of the chaplains present for the exercise. Gontcharuk expressed gratitude for the chance to refresh his skills with this exercise, “I thought it was great. The drill proved to me the importance of periodic continuing education in responding to disasters and critical events. There is great value in this type of interagency collaboration and training.”
DCS offers thanks to the teams at Air France, ARC-GNY, the Port Authority, and staff at JFK for this opportunity. We all hope our training and skills in this type of event is never needed, but if we are called, Disaster Chaplaincy Services is prepared to respond.
Rev. Julie Taylor, Rev. Dr. Willard Ashley, County Executive Dennis McNerney, Lt. Dwane Razzetti, Rabbi Elliot Schoenberg
BERGEN COUNTY, NJ, 23 April, 2010 –
Disaster Chaplaincy Services (DCS) is pleased to announce the signing of an affiliation agreement with Bergen County, New Jersey. Disaster Chaplaincy Services–Bergen County (DCS-Bergen County) will be at the forefront of spiritual care in disaster response in New Jersey.
The signing ceremony was attended by County Executive Dennis McNerney, Lt. Dwane Razzetti of the Bergen County Office of Emergency Management, DCS board members Rev. Dr. Willard Ashley, Fr. Emile Frische, Deacon Robert Gontcharuk, Rev. Julie Taylor, and Bergen County clergy Rabbi Elliot Schoenberg and others. Rabbi Schoenberg brought the idea of a DCS-Bergen County to Lt. Razzetti over a year ago and the teams began to work together.
County Executive McNerney said this of the agreement, “Thanks to Disaster Chaplaincy Services whose experience in the past decade has helped innumerable people in the emotional aftermath of disasters and other emergencies. We are embarking on a new program in New Jersey. The first affiliation agreement anywhere with Disaster Chaplaincy Services to improve the services to our residents in their most vulnerable times.”
Rev. Taylor commented, “We never know what community will be affected by a crisis. We need clergy from all faith traditions to be trained to work together and know how to respond within the incident command structures. This is a great opportunity for Bergen County.” It is DCS’ commitment to assist Bergen County’s OEM in training a multi-faith cadre of clergy from Bergen County and prepare them to respond to disasters, crises, and emergencies.
We are looking forward to this new affiliation, working with OEM and the new DCS-Bergen County in helping to provide direct spiritual care to support those in need.
In 2008, DCS was awarded a service grant from the Taproot Foundation for the creation of a donor and volunteer database. This was an extensive project which was completed several months ago.
The Board of Directors and the Leadership Team would like to thank the Taproot Foundation and specifically the members of the team who made this database a reality.
Thank you Bill Ramirez, Brigid D’Souza, Ethan Miller, Donette Hankins, and Kelly Attrill for your hard work and dedication to this project. You have enhanced the work of DCS and contributed greatly to our ability to fulfill our mission.
DCS counts on an involved network of partners, donors and volunteers to help continue its mission. Please, click here to donate to DCS and support its work.
www.disasterchaplaincy.org
Spiritual care, crisis intervention, trauma communication, emergency planning and other trainings are regularly offered in the NYC metro and other nearby areas.
How to stay in the loop? You guessed it: visit the DCS website! Visit regularly, contact us with feedback and suggestions, volunteer a few hours per month to help keep it current. Let us count the ways our website can keep us connected!
DCS is on Facebook
Join the DCS Facebook page and be a part of our online community. Get the word out by inviting your friends to join the network and follow what is happening with Disaster Chaplaincy Services.
On January 12th a major earthquake hit Haiti, causing devastation throughout the nation. Disaster Chaplaincy Services chaplains began their response to this overwhelming disaster and have continued to provide support even now.
DCS chaplains serving at Haitian congregation in Brooklyn (photo courtesy of ARC-GNY)
DCS chaplains have served in public schools and churches as well as providing care over the phone and with referrals in Brooklyn, Queens, and New Jersey. Working with agencies such as the American Red Cross in Greater New York (ARC-GNY) and the National Association of Jewish Chaplains, DCS has been able to provide direct spiritual care to countless people in the Haitian community who have been devastated by this earthquake.
One of our chaplains, Rev. Noster Montas, was deployed to the USNS Comfort as part of a group including volunteers from ARC-GNY, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers, and Haitian Americans United for Progress. Montas served as a translator aboard this US Navy medical ship.
The work continues as members of DCS are working with the National Association of Jewish chaplains to support Haitian clergy and healthcare workers in New Jersey.
Rev. Noster Montas prepares to deploy for 30 days on the USNS Comfort
NEW YORK, 19 January, 2010 — Disaster Chaplaincy Services’ (DCS) chaplain, Rev. Noster Montas is being deployed with a group from the New York area on a 30-day mission aboard the USNS Comfort off the coast of Haiti. Montas is part of a 47 person contingent deployed by the American Red Cross in Greater New York and the Miami Red Cross chapter to be translators on the medical ship. In addition to the DCS chaplain, included in the team are volunteers from the American Red Cross, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers, and the Haitian Americans United for Progress, all of whom are fluent in Kreyol and English.
Montas and the rest of the Greater New York Red Cross volunteers leave tomorrow to meet the USNS Comfort already en route to Haiti. While Montas is out of the country, DCS will be staying in touch with his wife and two children to offer them support through this time.
Montas is a great example of what it means to be a Disaster Chaplaincy Services volunteer. On one hour notice he cleared his schedule for the next month and made himself available for this difficult deployment. His understanding that service is a sacrifice inspires all of us to use the gifts we have been given to help others in their time of need.
Thank you to Vince Porcelli who is our On-call Lead this month and has spent countless hours on the phone and email scheduling and organizing DCS’ local response. And a special thank you to all the DCS chaplains who have deployed to the various sites around the city to listen, companion, and support all those in the Haitian community affected by this heartbreaking earthquake. DCS chaplains continue to be on alert and on call.
Our thoughts and prayers go with everyone on the USNS Comfort and to all the people of Haiti. “L’union fait la force”–”In unity there is strength”
Peace and blessings,
Rev. Julie Taylor
Executive Director
Donate now to support the ongoing work of Disaster Chaplaincy Services.
NEW YORK, 17 January, 2010 –
Beginning on January 14th, Disaster Chaplaincy Services (DCS) volunteer chaplains have been providing support to the Haitian community of New York City in response to devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12th. At the request of the American Red Cross in Greater New York DCS chaplains were onsite at four public schools in Brooklyn providing crisis interventions and support to the affected students and staff.
Throughout the weekend DCS chaplains have given support to the Haitian community and are scheduled at a number of locations in the upcoming week.
Thank you to the many chaplains and staff who stepped up to this call. We continue to be in contact and communication with municipal agencies as well as our non-governmental agency partners regarding how DCS can best be of assistance in meeting the ongoing and emerging needs of the community.
For information on friends and family who may be affected in Haiti and the Federal response, click here for the White House Haiti Relief page.
Please consider making a donation to one of the many great organizations working on the relief effort, including Disaster Chaplaincy Services.
