9/11 Survivor Becomes Nurse, Advocates for Healthcare Funding

Call for Health Care Funding

• 📣 City council members and advocates are urging the federal government to pass legislation ensuring health care funding for 9/11 first responders and survivors.
• 🏛️ Leaders gathered to call on President Trump and Congress to pass the bipartisan 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025.
• 💰 The proposed bill aims to update the World Trade Center Health Program's funding formula, as current provisions are insufficient for anticipated costs.

A Survivor's Journey to Nursing

• 💔 Jocelyn Brooks, a 9/11 survivor, shares her story for the first time after her life-altering experience.
• 🏃‍♀️ She recounts running down 40 flights of stairs from the World Trade Center and witnessing people jumping from the buildings.
• 💼 Brooks left a successful finance career at Lehman Brothers to become a nurse at 48 years old, fulfilling a lifelong passion.

Dedication to Patient Care

• 🌱 Inspired by her mother's efforts to provide healthcare for 12 children in Trinidad, Brooks found her calling.
• 🏥 Now 61, she works in the bone marrow transplant unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, caring for patients with cancer linked to 9/11 exposure.
• 🤝 She feels a special bond with these patients, understanding their sacrifice and the costs of treatment.

Advocacy for Future Support

• ⚠️ Brooks emphasizes the increasing likelihood of developing cancer as survivors age and questions the consequences of insufficient funding.
• 🙏 She calls on legislators to fight for the necessary support, stating, "Are we going to just die because of a lack of funding?"
• 🖼️ She reflects on September 11th, displaying a photo of herself at work and a drawing by her daughter depicting her as a nurse, calling it destiny.