After 9/11, Hamburg therapist heard stories of trauma, fear — and hope

In its coverage of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, The Buffalo News features stories of several UB community members, including Bonnie Collins, who has worked as an adjunct instructor in the School of Social Work and participates in the school’s Alumni Mentor program. She went to Manhattan with fellow social workers Linda Abrams and Ellen Silver after 9/11 to volunteer with the Salvation Army.

While in New York helping people affected by the attacks, Collins began recording her experiences for what became a poem, “Memories,” that she published in the book, On the Ground After September 11: Mental Health Responses and Practical Knowledge Gained. “I wanted to capture what we saw, and the little vignettes that happened along the way,” she said. “They were important, and they sent a message that, even in the midst of all this trauma, there was some sort of hope.”