35W bridge survivors continue to receive support, assistance from Waite House

During the past five months, the staff at Waite House have worked tirelessly to bring some sense of “normal life” back for the fifty-two young children and eight young adult Waite House staff members who were riding on the Waite House school bus when the 35W bridge collapsed last August.

Immediately following the bridge collapse, all 52 of the children who were on the bus (consisting of 29 families) were contacted by Waite House staff for an initial assessment. Every family came to Waite House in the days following the accident, where they were connected with volunteer therapists who provided crisis counseling and they had the opportunity to talk to one another about their experiences. Waite House staff provided families with a list of resources – available in Spanish and English – that they could access if they wanted further counseling or assistance. The center offered weekly support groups – available on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings – for the children affected by the incident. Pillsbury United Communities distributed donations directly to the families to cover medical or other costs incurred because of the bridge collapse.

However, many children and families continue to face issues that require immediate attention, including post-traumatic stress syndrome, difficulty sleeping, trouble focusing in school, and financial strain. Of the 52 children on the bus, 21 of those children are reportedly doing “worse” in school than they were before the collapse, according to their parents. Parents have often been forced to miss work to care for their children or take them to doctor’s appointments; more than 35% of these parents have missed at least one mortgage or rental payment since the bridge collapse.

With the support of Minneapolis Foundation and MN Helps Fund, Waite House has hired a full-time family advocate to work with children and families affected by the bridge collapse. The neighborhood center has also contracted the services of two licensed, independent clinical social workers to do emotional assessments of the children and their parents. Since October 15, 25 of the 29 families have met with one of these counselors. Waite House will seek additional funds from the State of Minnesota to allow the center to retain a family advocate who is devoted to serving the “bridge families” for the next three years. Specific components of this program will include family advocacy, a family support fund to help with bills, youth enrichment programming, therapeutic support, and a parent-outreach component.

In addition to the special counseling and support activities for those affected by the bridge collapse, Waite House continues to provide the normal, everyday programs and services that the families have come to rely on. Youth still come to the center each day after school for tutoring, computer lab access, art classes, job training, and recreation. Families still rely on Waite House for help with food, housing, job searches, English classes, and socialization with their neighbors. Youth and their families came together with the staff at Waite House for a holiday party in late December, where they enjoyed food, music and a chance to get together and, according to Waite House Youth Program Director Julie Graves, “not talk about the bridge!”