ABSTRACT
The focus of this chapter is on human service workers who respond to terrorist events in the workplace. Most literature about responding to terrorist events focuses on first-line responders such as police, paramedics and firefighters involved in the immediate response to establish safety, extinguish fires, locate and treat the injured, recover the dead, establish and maintain the crime scene, and begin the investigation. Human service responders have a different focus of responsibilities: their job entails providing compassionate, humane and effective support services to both victims and first responders in the event. Human services may entail psychological first aid and crisis intervention, stress management, spiritual or pastoral care, and assessment and referral for a wide range of human needs in the aftermath. Human service responders may include human resource personnel, employee assistance and mental health professionals, clergy, occupational and other healthcare workers, social workers and occupational safety professionals. They may come from within the impacted organization, from responding government or private agencies, or from non-profit volunteer agencies. They may be trained (and in some cases, licensed) professionals or trained volunteers or peers.
