Answering the Call: Our Legacy of Service Since 9/11

Twenty-five years ago, September 11th forever changed our city and our nation. For Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, our first thoughts and prayers are for those who lost their lives that day, their loved ones, and those who have continued to suffer as a result of that day especially those experiencing 9/11 debilitating illnesses.

These events revealed just how vital our role could be in a moment of unimaginable crisis. In the days, weeks, and months that followed, we became a lifeline for individuals and families whose lives had been shattered, offering emergency assistance, counseling, financial support, and other critical services as we walked alongside New Yorkers through the long road to recovery.

As we honor those lost and those who worked tirelessly to help the injured, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens looks back on longtime supporter and Board of Trustee Dr. Elizabeth Lutas’ contributions as a first responder.

Dr. Lutas, a doctor of Internal Medicine for over 50 years, was on her way to St. Vincent’s Hospital for the weekly meeting for the Homeless Program. While walking out of the MTA Station at Union Square on the morning of September 11th, she saw smoke billowing from downtown. As she watched, an airplane flew right through the second tower.

She went to the hospital, put away her belongings, and took her white coat, stethoscope, and the prayer cards from her prayer book. The doctors gathered, waiting to be assigned to a part of the hospital where they were setting up to care for injured patients.

While the doctors waited, the first tower had collapsed. Dr. Lutas remembers that as she and her colleagues watched the first tower collapse, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

At this point, staff were asked for volunteers to go to Battery Park to set up a staging hospital with FEMA; she volunteered with four others. As the ambulance was going downtown, Dr. Lutas read her prayer cards silently and passed one around to everyone to inspire strength for the hours of hard work and emotional strain ahead.

The ambulance arrived downtown. While outside of the still standing second tower, getting their supplies ready to come out of the ambulance, the second tower began to fall. Smoke started rising, and the radio in the ambulance told the team to “Get out as fast as you can.”

The ambulance, with Dr. Lutas and other doctors inside, raced to Chelsea Piers, where the team met FEMA and began staging the hospital. At the FEMA staging hospital, Dr. Lutas was initially placed in charge of triage, and later in charge of both triage and medical.

For hours, the only people coming to the staging hospital were worried people looking for their loved ones. “All I could do was comfort them,” said Dr. Lutas.

After hours of waiting, patients began arriving around 9 p.m. Dr. Lutas said it was mainly injured first responders and people from the surrounding areas, most suffering from smoke and dust inhalation, asthma attacks, and dust in their eyes and lungs. The team didn’t get any survivors from inside the towers.

Dr. Lutas spoke to the injured first responders who went to the burning towers to try to rescue and listened to their stories and tried to comfort them. Dr. Lutas said she needed God’s strength and help to care for the patients, comfort the injured, and support those who came looking for loved ones and the medical staff.

At 3 a.m., they discharged the last patient, and no one else was coming. After a few hours of rest, the team dispersed to see where help was needed. Dr. Lutas worked for two days with little rest, helping to examine, monitor, and comfort anyone who came to the FEMA staging hospital or the clinic.

Dr. Lutas’ bravery and dedication to helping others on September 11th stems from a long history of a committed medical career. She has spent over 23 years serving homeless populations at NYC shelters, three years at a community health center and has now worked for 13 years at Brightpoint Health in Jamaica caring for homeless individuals living with AIDS. A parishioner of Saint Teresa’s Roman Catholic Church in Queens for 40 years, she directed the parish’s homeless program for 12 years and currently serves as lector, eucharistic minister, and religion teacher.

In 2014, Catholic Charities dedicated the Dr. Elizabeth Lutas Family Center at 3060 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, home to CCBQ’s Homebase Homelessness Prevention and East New York Family Support Programs, which help local families with day care referrals, substance abuse assistance, and job training.

The scale of September 11 made clear how essential Catholic Charities could be in a disaster. Seasoned Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens case worker, Betty Morales, shared that no amount of schooling or experience could prepare her for the aftermath of 9/11 as she met with survivors and family members in the months that followed.

“I saw so many people who had lost their loved ones, and I went home almost every day with tears in my eyes,” recalls Ms. Morales. “I am so proud of the fact that Catholic Charities opened its doors and provided people who were suffering with the opportunity to talk about their pain and share their experiences. This agency gave people a new vision for their lives and helped them make a new start. That is an incredible thing.”

Twenty-five years later, the legacy of 9/11 continues to remind us of the power of compassion, resilience, and community. In the years since, families have turned to us during disasters and emergencies such as Hurricane Sandy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the migrant humanitarian crisis.

Each response has looked different, but the mission has stayed the same: to be present for our neighbors when they need us most.

As we look back through photographs preserved from that time, we remember the lives lost, the families forever changed, the first responders and all those who answered the call to serve. We also remember the Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens staff and volunteers who stepped forward when their neighbors needed them most.