9/11 Victims Experience Increased Number and Types of Illnesses

9/11 Victims Experience Increased Number and Types of Illnesses

9/11 first responders, residents, students and workers are experiencing multiple illnesses that can be traced back to the exposure to toxic dust on September 11, 2001 as well as in the days, weeks and months that followed. Because cancers have a latency period, certain illnesses can take many years before they develop. Programs like the World Trade Center Health Program and the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) can help with medical expenses, economic losses and pain and suffering. The VCF has awarded close to $4 billion to date. The deadline for filing is December 2020.

Image Source: Courtesy of the Prints and Photographs Division. Library of Congress.

9/11 Nat'l Memorial Trail

9/11 Nat'l Memorial Trail

The September 11th National Memorial Trail Ride is a 23-day bicycling journey which begins on April 11th and will go through May 3rd. All three September 11th Memorial location sites are linked by the 1300-mile September 11th National Memorial Trail. Spanning 17 years, a series of existing and newly developed trails were designed to connect the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville to the World Trade Center memorial in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. While the trail is not yet open to the public, portions of this inaugural ride will welcome others to join at specific locations along the way.

9/11 VCF CLAIMS CAN BE FILED BY RESPONDERS & SURVIVORS OF THREE AFFECTED SITES

9/11 VCF CLAIMS CAN BE FILED BY RESPONDERS & SURVIVORS OF THREE AFFECTED SITES

The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund is a federally funded program that was created to compensate victims who suffered death, injury or illness resulting from exposure to contaminants on and in the days, weeks and months following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The three affected sites are the NYC Exposure Zone, the Pentagon and the Shanksville, Pennsylvania United Flight 93 crash site.

JON STEWART JOINS LAWMAKERS

JON STEWART JOINS LAWMAKERS

A proposal to separate the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has drawn criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Jon Stewart attended an event with New York Representatives on Capitol Hill on Monday, March 5, 2018 in an effort to convince White House budget director Mick Mulvaney to abandon the proposal which threatens the health care treatment of 9/11 first responders.

Not Every Hero Wears a Cape

Not Every Hero Wears a Cape

Retired NYPD Detective Tommy Merriweather, who died of 9/11-related pancreatic cancer in 2013 was honored by family, friends and the NYPD last month at the First Baptist Church in Bay Shore on Long Island, New York. In addition to being a NYPD detective, Merriweather was an Army veteran and Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America.