Volunteers from the New York State Psychological Association responded following the Rockaway plane crash to counsel grieving families of the passengers who died.

Most of the 260 people on board were New Yorkers of Dominican descent headed for Santo Domingo, and many came from the same upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, said June Feder, a NYSPA member who works for the United Federation of Teachers, New York State United Teachers' affiliate in New York City schools. NYSPA, a statewide association of private-practice psychologists, is affiliated with NYSUT.

"They were looking for bilingual mental health professionals, and we were able to provide that," with two dozen NYSPA members, said Feder.

Because so many members responded to the Sept. 11 terror attacks, NYSPA was among the first organizations to be called, Feder said. "They leaned on us heavily," she said.

The family assistance center for the Queens plane crash follow-up, where NYSPA volunteers were working, was established on the west side of midtown Manhattan, then moved uptown into the Washington Heights neighborhood itself.

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