In starting the initiative, Governor Carcieri notes that, as the anniversary of The Station fire nears, the pain and loss of that night will return to haunt the many touched by the disaster.

08:27 AM EST on Wednesday, January 21, 2004

BY TOM MOONEY
Journal Staff Writer

As the first anniversary of The Station fire nears, the state is launching a group of mental health agencies to seek out and treat, free of charge, potentially thousands of people still emotionally reeling from the nightclub tragedy.

Governor Carcieri launched the "Stations of Support" network yesterday, urging people with questions or concerns about depression or sadness to visit its new Web site: www.stationsofsupport.org.

The Web site will help connect visitors to community resources, mental health experts, clergy and others who have been specifically trained to help those with depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress.

The support network was designed to reach beyond the survivors of the fire and the relatives of those who lost loved ones and to help others such as police officers and firefighters who responded to the blaze, the ambulance drivers who treated people and those who lost friends in the fire.

For many people the emotional effects of such a disaster can take months and even years to develop, said Jane Hayward, interim director of the Department of Mental Health Rehabilitation and Hospitals.

"One of the real problems with post-traumatic stress disorder is that those affected by it often don't associate the problem with the original trauma," she said. "This is one of a number of common reactions that we hope to tackle with the Stations of Support initiative."

Journal photo / Connie Grosch STATE EFFORT: Jane Hayward, interim director of the Department of Mental Health Rehabilitation and Hospitals, listens to Governor Carcieri launch the " Stations of Support" network.

Carcieri noted that as the Feb. 20 anniversary approaches, the pain of one of Rhode Island's worst disasters will likely come rushing back for many.

Carcieri said he was reminded how raw those feelings of loss are when a couple months ago an usher at the Providence Performing Arts Center grabbed him. She was in tears.

She told him she had lost a daughter in the fire "and seeing me brought it back."

Carcieri was, for several days after the fire, the face of the tragedy, holding media briefings and announcing the growing list of casualties, which would grow to 100 dead and more than 200 injured.

The support network is being financed by a $494,568 federal grant. The grant is being used to train counselors from several agencies and to support a four-member outreach team from The Kent Center, which is going out into communities urging people to get help.

Some of the organizations supplying workers for the support network include: The Kent Center, the Rhode Island Council of Community Mental Health Organizations, Family Services of Rhode Island, the Interfaith Counseling Center, the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, The Rhode Island Drug and Alcohol Treatment Association and The Station Family Fund.

The grant is only for a year. But the state is committed to continuing the network's services for as long as they are needed, said Craig Stenning, executive director for the Division of Behavioral Health Care.