Sandy Hook Promise, the national non-profit led by several families that lost a loved one in the Sandy Hook School shooting, recently donated $47,000 to help fund a year-long, four-phase resiliency program for members of the emergency response communities and their families.

The program is organized by the Newtown Recovery and Resiliency Team and run by HEART 9/11, a group of 9/11 first responders that has helped other first responders, families, and communities heal and rebuild following tragedies.

“Almost three years after the brutal tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, many in our community are still struggling to heal,” said Nicole Hockley, managing director at Sandy Hook Promise. “We have an opportunity to help some of those people — men and women — who must get up every day and protect the Newtown community, while still dealing with their own grief and need for healing.

“We want our emergency responders to know how much we all care about them,” she continued, “and HEART 9/11’s comprehensive program can have a lasting impact on their mental and emotional well-being. Sandy Hook Promise is proud to work with the wonderful network of organizations supporting this amazing program.”

The program includes discussion and support groups, psycho-education training, retreats, and ultimately, a building project for a veteran, which would illustrate that true resiliency is demonstrated with healing by helping. 

HEART 9/11 is already seeing positive progress after their initial outreach into the Newtown first responder community. It has been found that departments and personnel who do not receive this kind of outreach tend not to be as resilient or recover from trauma as well over the long term, highlighting the need for this sort of program.

Bill Keegan, founder and president of HEART 9/11 said, “It has been our honor to work with the Newtown first responders and we appreciate the support of Sandy Hook Promise, the Newtown Recovery and Resiliency Team, and the Newtown community.”

 Sandy Hook Promise is devoted to protecting children from gun violence by providing research-based prevention programs and practices in the areas of mental health & wellness and gun safety. To learn more, go to www.sandyhookpromise.org. Sandy Hook Promise is a non-profit corporation with a 501c(3) Foundation and 501c(4) Action Fund.