By Jennifer Marino
This simple story of loss is one of the ways Hannah Turro and Rachel Blackburn are helping children deal with the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks. The two South Side High School students were invited to help run a drama program at the World Trade Center Child and Family Counseling Program in Rockville Centre, which is run by South Nassau Communities Hospital.
I immediately wanted to do it, said Rachel, a senior at South Side.
Hannah and Rachel play theater games with the kids, ranging in age from 3 to 10 years old, including improvisation and games involving sounds and movement. Many of the games focus on emotions, according to Hannah, a junior at South Side.
The exercises are fun and also helpful and therapeutic, said Janet Kahn-Scolaro, supervisor of the World Trade Center Child and Family Program. Kahn-Scolaro also noted that sometimes the kids aren't aware of the therapeutic aspect of the games.
Books, like Corduroy, are also used to help the kids, many of whom lost a relative on Sept. 11. The participants get to express a variety of emotions through the activities. It's an outlet for them, said Hannah.
The girls try to avoid the more intense feelings and the actual issue of death because they do not feel as though they are trained for that. We're not drama therapists, said Rachel.
The girls have experience with children and drama. During the school year, they've run a drama club at Hewitt School with two other girls for three years. Rachel was the narrator in South Side's production of Pippin this year. Hannah was a member of South Side Middle School's Christmas Carol Chorus in the Broadway production of A Christmas Carol for three years.
Rachel said that all four girls who run the Hewitt drama club were asked to participate in the counseling center's program, but the other two had plans for the summer. Kahn-Scolaro called it a terrific coincidence that Hannah and Rachel wanted to do such a program and so did the counseling center.
The two high school students volunteer their time for an hour every Tuesday and Thursday to meet with the kids at the counseling center on Merrick Road, plus time spent planning the activities.
They're both very dedicated, very gentle and very intelligent. We're delighted to work with them, said Kahn-Scolaro.
The children are not the only ones reaping the benefits of the drama program. Kahn-Scolaro said that as much as the children are moved, Rachel and Hannah are moved too.
It's a very rewarding experience, said Rachel.
