Welcome to Life Matters

Katrina. September 11th. London. Madrid. In the world we live in, ordinary people are too often faced with extraordinary circumstances.

Terrorism, catastrophes of nature, violence and large-scale disasters impact us all — commuters, school children, business people, firefighters. Mass casualty incidents generate a great deal of media coverage but it is much more common for us to be affected by life's critical incidents in a far less public way: Job loss, retirement, economic pressures, legal battles, negative publicity, crime, death of a loved one, divorce or separation, domestic conflicts/violence, sexual tensions/abuse, serious illness, military deployment, accidents.... These are the stressors that drive us toward isolation, a condition that has been described as the "darkroom where we develop our negatives."

For once the dust settles, we are all challenged to stay strong and engage in the every day matters of life despite feelings of trauma, grief, shame, loss or anxiety.

Life Matters was created to help. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, our mission is to support people in developing psychological and community resources to regain their emotional well-being following a medical or psychological crisis.

Life Matters' educational programs help people understand what they're thinking and feeling in the aftermath of a crisis — and what to do about it. We offer educational awareness training to the military, emergency responders, healthcare professionals, corporate leaders, the building and construction trades, parents, teachers and youth to ensure that all people regardless of their professional calling are psychologically prepared for the emotional trauma they'll witness and experience in their everyday lives as well as in large-scale deployments. We organize support groups to facilitate on-going self-help and eliminate isolation for those affected by crisis. And finally, Life Matters offers a comprehensive, pro-active approach that serves to build a community of support. As part of this effort we collaborate with and make referrals to a variety of mental health, medical and social service resources.

Our programs uniquely teach stress-resistance, resilience, and recovery capabilities that strengthen one’s ability to remain healthy and safe, maintain unit morale, and achieve mission performance. In short, we help build a ready force of community support that helps one another to recover after stressful encounters, meet life’s challenges, and turn stressful experiences into opportunities for personal growth.

As some of you may be aware, an article with incorrect information about our organization appeared in The New York Post, focusing on a 9/11 firefighter’s charity, from which Life Matters had received funding.   We are pleased to report two very positive developments since the article was originally published.   First, after a broad review of Life Matters’ operations, including funding from the now defunct firefighter’s charity, the Connecticut Attorney General determined that no further investigation was warranted and that its inquiry is closed.   Second, in a very rare occurrence, The New York Post has just published an Editor’s Note (19 December 2008), that validates Life Matters’ endorsements, integrity, and important contributions to its constituents, acknowledges that the original article needed clarification and confirms that many of the key allegations in the article needed further context.