Project Liberty was formed in September 2001 to respond to mental issues that arose from the terrorist attacks that happened earlier that month in New York City. The initiative used various strategies to meet the needs of its target group. Project Liberty started by mapping specific areas where recipients of counselling resided. Due to its cosmopolitan nature, New York City hosts many people with the majority commuting daily from the surrounding counties and states (Donahue et al., 2006) . Therefore, it was possible to have September 11 Attack victims in areas surrounding the city and thus the need to include them. Project Liberty identified local health facilities within New York City and its surrounding counties as the likely places where patients with mental issues arising from the attack could visit. The second strategy Project Liberty used to meet the needs of the community was working with local healthcare facilities, governmental agencies, and private entities in identifying and treating patients with mental health problems arising from the attack. Those facilities had better accessibility and thus they were in a good position to encounter the affected people (Covell et al., 2006) . Project Liberty team visited various mental health hospitals while checking patient’s records for various cases requiring specialized attention. Local health professionals in various locations received training on the case identification and intervention methods for patients suffering from mental health issues. This strategy reduced the burden Project Liberty could bear in treating mental health patients and thus able to reach a large group. Third, Project Liberty met the needs of the community by using massive media coverage to reach as many affected people as possible (Pfefferbaum, 2006) . The team realized that it was not possible to reach all the affected people by using local health facilities alone. The goal for undertaking a massive media campaign was to sensitize people on the existence of Project Liberty and where people with mental issues could access its services. Project Liberty invested 9.38 million to put advertisements in various media channels. The team also provided a hotline where people experiencing mental issues could call. This strategy had a significant impact with the number of callers growing tremendously within few months after the disaster. This initiative also helped many people to view Project Liberty as a trusted mental healthcare provider. Lastly, Project Liberty met the needs of the community by designing encounter logs that helped healthcare professionals check on the event reactions. Project Liberty needed to have a significant improvement on those suffering from mental issues and thus the need for comprehensive follow-up records. Mental healthcare providers could assess how each patient was fairing while identifying those in need of specialized care.
Project Liberty’s Success
Project Liberty succeeded by achieving many goals formulated during its formation. First, Project Liberty reached a wider scope and thus helping many people who had mental issues following the September 11 Attacks. The team formulated various strategies that could guarantee more access to the affected people. Those strategies included advertisements on various media platforms, working with local health facilities, and requesting enough budgetary allocation (Weisaeth et al., 2007) . As a result, the number of patients who visited healthcare facilities with mental issues increased significantly in the months following the September 11 Attacks. There was also an increase in the number of callers to the provided hotline inquiring on places to get mental healthcare. Secondly, Project Liberty worked within its budget to ensure that majority of those with mental issues got its services. The team achieved this by using cost-effective methods and working with various agencies to reach the affected.
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References
Covell, N., Essock, S., Felton, C., & Donahue, S. (2006). Characteristics of Project Liberty Clients That Predicted Referrals to Intensive Mental Health Services. Psychiatric Services , 57 (9), 1313-1315. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2006.57.9.1313
Donahue, S., Lanzara, C., Felton, C., Essock, S., & Carpinello, S. (2006). Project Liberty: New York's Crisis Counseling Program Created in the Aftermath of September 11, 2001. Psychiatric Services , 57 (9), 1253-1258. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2006.57.9.1253
Pfefferbaum, B. (2006). Disasters in the 21st Century: Lessons From Project Liberty. Psychiatric Services , 57 (9), 1251-1251. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2006.57.9.1251
Weisaeth, L., Dyb, G., & Heir, T. (2007). Disaster Medicine and Mental Health: Who, How, When for International and National Disasters. Psychiatry: Interpersonal And Biological Processes , 70 (4), 337-344. https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc.2007.70.4.337
