ABSTRACT
Every week, the occupational therapy students facilitated a community group that the clinic clients attended. It centered on advocacy and planning activities for the disabled community. Many of the consumers were visually impaired, deaf, and used crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs. Additionally, almost everyone depended on taking daily medications. Therefore, during author's experience at the shelter, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created a program called Project Liberty to assist New Yorkers in coping with the disaster. It was expected that over a million people were in need of mental health services in the New York City area and mental health agencies around New York were going to provide community outreach services to help anyone who required crisis counseling. The FEMA structured Project Liberty in a way that they would teach New Yorkers how to help themselves. In order to do this, those in New York with a background in crisis counseling would train others.
