Children's Corner

Comforting, guiding kids at Armory

By Margaret Ramirez | STAFF WRITER

September 17, 2001

Inside the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan, where family members of World Trade Center victims endure painful questions on the missing, there is a quiet, cozy corner just for the children.

Big white sofas are there for kids to climb on with crayons and coloring books. Colorful carpets with games printed on them cover the cold floor for children to sprawl out and play. Toys, stuffed animals, and Beanie Babies are available for children and even parents who need to hug something.

Leading yesterday's media tour of the center for families of disaster victims was the mayor's girlfriend, Judith Nathan, who said she was working as a volunteer.

"There are grieving rooms with the appropriate spiritual counselors in place," she said, pointing out cubicles where 130 counselors were on hand.

Families of the missing have been coming to the armory since Thursday, some searching for answers to where their loved one is, others looking for closure. Soon enough, volunteers discovered the armory needed a small sanctuary away from the grief. In response, the Red Cross contacted a new group called Disaster Psychiatry Outreach and on Saturday, established the Children's Corner in the armory, 68 Lexington Ave. at 26th Street.

"It's a place where parents can come with their children to find out how to discuss this terrible disaster," said Dr. Desmond Heath, a child psychiatrist at The Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.

"Some children are overwhelmed. Some are just blank about it. There are all sorts of levels, depending on their age," Heath said.

One boy sat in the corner, drawing on one of those pads where you lift up the film and the drawing disappears. He drew two planes and the towers, Heath said, one in an explosion and the other in flight. Then the boy lifted up the page and made the drawing disappear.

"Do you think this is connected with Mommy being upset?" Heath asked the child. The boy nodded. Big nods. Fast nods of yes, yes.

In the children's corner, there are professionals of all levels, including child psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists and volunteer ministers, including Laurel Bolchunos of Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

Bolchunos said parents and new guardians have been reluctant to bring children to the armory for fear of traumatizing them. But she said they should make an effort to be open with children.

"They're afraid of the kids being exposed. Parents need to be aware that kids just need honesty and not to be too afraid to show them their own emotions and open up to one another." Heath also emphasized that parents should be truthful.

One mother who spoke to Heath has been unable to tell her 8-year-old son that his father is missing. She burst into tears when he asked, "Is Daddy in the hospital?"