He joined hundreds of other Scientology Volunteer Ministers who worked for weeks to help in any way they could.
COLUMBUS VOLUNTEER'S HEART'S IN NEW YORK
| | Thursday, November 15, 2001 NEWS 02A By Lornet Turnbull | |
In just a few weeks, Jack Via has come to know the tough, gritty underbelly of New York.
He has come to know its people -- their resilience, their vulnerabilities, their deep pride.
A volunteer minister with the Church of Scientology, Via roams New York greeting and listening to strangers and handing out pamphlets to those willing to accept them.
Although thousands of volunteers have cycled in and out of New York since Sept. 11, the 51-year-old Via left his dog, his roofing job and an apartment in Italian Village on Sept. 28 and hasn't looked back.
"I never thought about falling in love with New York City -- but I have,'' Via said this week. "There isn't anything too much more important than what's going on here now.''
Although time and a war abroad have shifted U.S. attention from New York, Via and a corps of volunteers from throughout the country talk of a city still very much on the mend.
That became devastatingly clear again this week with the crash of American Flight 587 in a Queens neighborhood already reeling from loss. Via said he and other Scientology volunteers walked the streets of the Rockaway Beach neighborhood "looking for anybody in need of help.''
When he arrived in New York, Via admits, he worried about the reception Scientologists might receive. The Los Angeles-based church founded in 1954 by the late science- fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard isn't universally embraced.
Scientologists say the religion's goal is to help people understand and improve their lives; critics accuse it of being cultlike.
At one point after Sept. 11, as many as 800 Scientologist volunteers had gathered in New York.
They employ what Via calls "spiritual'' first aid for those struggling with grief and dysfunction.
"We help people heal by getting the 'being' back in touch with the body or mind. It sounds simple, but it's very powerful.'' >> more
