Crisis organization looking to grow

George Scott retiring from Community Resource Team

By: Paul Koepp
   As the organization that coordinates crisis management and other issues in South Brunswick says goodbye to one of its leaders, it is trying to focus its efforts on the township’s evolving needs.
   George Scott, who has served as co-chair of the Community Resource Team for seven years, is retiring after 10 years as the district’s director of student services and 37 years working in schools.
   Diana Salvador, director of the BRIDGE Center school-based youth services program, is taking over for Mr. Scott as CRT co-chair alongside Steve Papenberg, head of the township Health Department. She praised Mr. Scott for his contributions to the group.
   "He’s been a pivotal, key, force and a tremendous leader," she said. "The foundation has already been poured by people like George. Getting people to the table is 90 percent of the battle."
   The CRT, a partnership of township agencies and citizen groups, was created as a crisis-response group following multiple student suicides in 1987 in Bergenfield. Local leaders realized that an umbrella organization of community groups could help South Brunswick respond if it were faced with a similar tragedy.
   Mr. Scott said the CRT’s mission has changed since Sept. 11, 2001 to reflect a greater emphasis on being prepared for a crisis. Accordingly, its name has changed from the Community Response Team to the Community Resource Team.
   "After 9/11, all levels of government were ratcheted up in terms of response and responders," Mr. Scott said. "We switched our direction to identifying strengths and needs of the community, so we could better help in times of crisis."
   The main function of the CRT is still to coordinate community groups, especially through its community resource directory, which provides helpful information and contacts for a wide range of issues. The directory is available at the school district’s Web site, www.sbschools.org.
   Mr. Scott said the CRT was also designed to inform the community about serious problems like youth suicides and gang activity without causing panic or provoking copycat incidents. It can serve to dispel myths and clarify rumors, he said.
   "When you talk about something like pandemic influenza, the level of fear in the community starts to rise," he said. "We can mitigate that by giving real truths and information."
   Since the April 16 massacre at Virginia Tech, crisis management has become an even more prominent issue.
   "We need to balance the anxiety people are facing with a level-headed, reality-based response," he said.
   In addition, the CRT helps township residents in times of need. Through the efforts of the CRT, Mr. Scott said, three families who recently lost their homes due to fire were provided with food coupons to use at a local restaurant, while a company was contacted to help clean up their properties.
   The CRT is especially helpful in putting people in touch with mental health resources that many may not be aware of, Mr. Scott said. Ms. Salvador said one of her goals is improving access to mental health care.
   "Parents are begging me for services (at the BRIDGE Center)," she said. "I’ve had a waiting list since October."
   The BRIDGE Center, based in Crossroads Middle School and South Brunswick High School, offers free mental health and recreation programs to students.
   Ms. Salvador said the most important thing for the CRT is to maintain the energy of the group by recruiting new members. The organization is looking for representatives from different ethnic and cultural groups to reflect the township’s growing diversity.
   "Ethnically and culturally, the township is changing dramatically and pretty quickly," Mr. Scott said, adding that 50 percent of the school district’s last incoming kindergarten class was of Asian origins. "We need to know people’s needs to help us help the community get blended."
   The partnership currently includes representatives from the township government, police, the Health Department, Social Services, the school district, the South Brunswick Clergy Association, community service organizations, and mental health agencies.
   Mr. Scott said that South Brunswick is serving as a model for other towns who want to create something similar to the CRT.
   "They recognize that it’s an invaluable table to sit at," he said.
   Although Mr. Scott is stepping down from his current position, he will continue to work with the Middlesex County Traumatic Loss Coalition, as well as in private practice for mental health care and crisis management training.
   Anyone wishing to attend one of the CRT’s meetings, which are held the second Tuesday of each month at 12:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building, should contact Ms. Salvador at (732) 329-4044, ext. 3246. The meetings are not open to the public so that participants can maintain a "gentleman’s oath of confidentiality" about sensitive problems, Mr. Scott said.