Victims Weekend Retreat November 13-15, 2015

Last weekend on November 13-15, 2015, 35 victims of terrorism, both survivors and bereaved and family members spent a weekend together in NYC.  The purpose of the weekend was to unite victims, survivors, first responders and bereaved family members who have all been directly impacted by terrorism. The weekend consisted of those who survived attacks or lost loved ones in 9/11, Oklahoma City, Boston, Israel, Uganda, Kenya and Mumbai.

Nobody could have ever anticipated that the weekend would be so important to all those in attendance when the news came of the attacks in Paris. The one thing that resonated with everyone was that we were all together at a time when we needed support the most.  Peer support for many in attendance is an invaluable resource because many traditional therapies are not what those in attendance were looking for.  The weekend reminded everyone that terrorism is a world problem and we must come together to move forward so that terrorism will not win.

The weekend could not have taken place without the countless individuals and companies that donated to the weekend. Special thank you to the Kraus Family, Belleclaire Hotel, AISH NY and Andi Koppelman for making the weekend a tremendous success. Everyone in attendance is already looking forward to our next weekend retreat.

Strength to Strength (www.stosglobal.org) is a non-profit organization founded by Sarri Singer, a woman who survived a bus bombing is Israel. Strength to Strength was established to support victims of terrorism around the world with long-term psychological needs through regular meetings, provision of information and advice, and raising awareness of the unmet needs of victims and their families.