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Victims: Agencies come to aid of living victims

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Ling Young says she is
Ling Young says she is "very fortunate" to be alive because she lost all of her co-workers in the World Trade Center except for her best friend.  


SUMMARY:

With the chances dwindling of finding survivors in the rubble, federal and local agencies are creating ways to help the living victims of the tragedy -- orphaned children, spouses in financial crisis and terror-stricken teens.

One New York fire company lost 15 firefighters in the collapse of the World Trade Center leaving 40 children fatherless. More families are trying to cope with student loan and mortgage payments, medical bills and job loss.

In the World Trade Center attacks, 6,333 people are missing and presumed dead, and 6,291 have been injured, according to New York's mayor, Rudy Giuliani. Medical examiners have identified 170 bodies. The death toll at the Pentagon is 189 including the 64 people who died on American Airline Flight 77.

But as confirmations regarding the identity of the dead trickle in, industries and government agencies are altering rules and creating new guidelines to help the victims who did not perish.

UPDATE:

The United States Department of Justice is providing money to states affected by the terrorist attacks to help surviving victims pay for counseling, medical bills, lost wages and burial expenses.

The United States Department of Education has said people affected by the Sept. 11 tragedies can postpone or reduce their payments. Other agencies are providing mortgage assistance to help families who have lost income.

The insurance industry has committed to modify its requirements for proof of death to speed payments to beneficiaries.


  •  Summary

  •  Update

  •  Key questions

  •  Impact

KEY QUESTIONS:

What might the lasting psychological effects be on survivors of the attacks?

What will be the toll on families affected by the mass airline industry layoffs resulting from the attacks?

How long will it take for relatives to receive confirmation of the fate of the missing? (Click here for more)

How will the remains pulled from the rubble be identified? (Click here for more)

IMPACT:

The immense human suffering, combined with the destruction of American symbols of power and strength, mark September 11 as a day of infamy permanently seared into the national psyche.






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