Tuesday’s Children: How nonprofi t helped
raise generation of 9/11 orphans
BY DEAN MOSES
Out of the ashes of despair following
the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
came a non-profi t organization, Tuesday’s
Children, which aims to serve
families and communities impacted
by terrorism, military confl ict, and
mass violence for the past 20 years.
Tuesday’s Children’s Executive
Director Terry Sears has spent the
past two decades working with 9/11
family members, providing longterm
support for those who suffered
the ripple effects of the terror attacks
and ensuing war.
Sears prides her organization on
their steadfast work aiding children
impacted by the destruction of the
World Trade Center as they grew up
through mentorship and programing.
She estimated that there were
108 children born after 9/11, creating
even more youth who would grow up
without knowing their loved ones.
Even though many of these babies
are now young adults attending college,
she emphasizes that they still
need the organization’s support due
to the emotional and mental impact
of losing a parent.
“We know from mental health
experts that children grieve differently.
It’s not like an adult where you
have a loss, and you have a tough
year or two or three. For kids, as they
become adults, as they become teenagers
often that is when the loss hits
them the hardest. It’s been important
that there be a community of understanding
and a community of support
as they fi nd their way into adulthood,”
Sears said.
Tuesday’s Children was founded
as a base program to fi ll the void due
to a lost parent, focusing on bonding
activities, mental health services,
and simply serving as a sturdy shoulder
for families to lean on while attempting
to fi nd some stability.
Sears has witnessed the devastation
wrought within her community
of Manhasset after 9/11, stating that
at least 41 families in the Long Island
community lost a loved one. This left
behind 55 children without a parent.
“It was something that needed to
be addressed, that these kids had a
commonality of loss throughout the
Tri-State area,” Sears said.
Tuesday’s Children initially functioned
as resource that featured
trained mentors who would function
as a big brother or sister to take
the youth to a baseball game, picnic,
or other fun event. This mentorship
transformed into surrogate family
members over the years, from simply
hanging out together to attending
weddings and baptisms, creating an
everlasting bond.
After two decades, the adolescents
are now grown up and moved on, even
serving in the military, studying in
college, and pursuing their careers,
they still keep in touch with Tuesday’s
Children as mentors to those
who’ve also face loss due to terrorism,
mass violence, and veterans who
have made the ultimate sacrifi ce.
“It’s incredibly and personally
rewarding to watch these kids grow
up,” Sears said, sharing that Tuesday’s
Children will be providing consultation
to organizations who need
advice on how to help those who’ve
lost a parent due to COVID-19.
Andrea is another mentor who
continues to work with the program
after directly being impacted by 9/11.
Both of her son’s were in a mentoring
program with Tuesday’s Children,
and she saw fi rst-hand the profound
effect it had on her family. She
decided to pay it forward by becoming
a mentor for a girl named Skyler,
who lost her father due to post-9/11
illness.
“Skyler’s endless energy, vivacious
personality and entertaining
stories never cease to amaze me,”
said Andrea. “I fi nd our time together
to be simultaneously uplifting
and rewarding.”
9/11 - 20 YEARS L 14 ATER, SEPT. 9-16, 2021 BTR
Brian Leavey lost his father, a lieutenant with Ladder 15 in South Street Seaport on 9/11, and
was mentored through Tuesday’s Children. Photo courtesy Tuesday’s Children