The American Red Cross September 11 Recovery Program (SRP) has announced thirty-nine grants totaling $8.72 million to nonprofit organizations in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to assist children and youth whose experiences following the 9/11 terrorist attacks may be causing continuing psychological distress.

As part of the Red Cross's mission to provide longer-term support services to those directly affected by the attacks, this latest round of grants will support counseling, therapy, and other services designed for children and youth. Some programs will screen children for mental health issues and provide crisis intervention. Others will help adult caregivers understand how children react to trauma and how to identify and address their needs. Still others will employ proven art, drama, and music therapy approaches that encourage children to tap into their creative instincts as a way to work out matters that trouble them.

"Thousands of children were traumatized by the loss or injury of a loved one on September 11," said SRP executive director Alan Goodman. "Many others suffered because of where they lived or where they went to school. The agencies we have funded today offer a community-based approach to reach those children whose families were among the most seriously disrupted and who may be coping in significantly different ways."

The grants, awarded through SRP's Liberty Disaster Relief Fund, also support culturally appropriate programs for specific communities who were affected by the attacks, including those offered by the Coalition of Asian American Children and Families (serving New York's Chinatown residents), the Jewish Guild for the Blind (serving severely disabled youth), and the St. Mark's Place Institute for Mental Health (serving Polish, Russian, Croatian, and other immigrant communities).

To download a complete list of grant recipients, visit: http://www.recoverygrants.org.