[explosion]
REPORTER: Two bombs exploding in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon...
KATHRYN TURMAN: We have televisions in our office that are continually tuned to 24-hour news. So we knew that this was not a small event. We immediately put our Victim Assistance Rapid Deployment Team members on standby.
KATHLEEN HALL: And we called upon them, and they hit the ground running.
LISA SKOLNICK: The injured were transported everywhere. Part of our job was to find where they were and get access to them, and then begin to provide services.
KATHLEEN GRIFFIN: When people have been traumatized and they're in a crisis and they have so many people that are reaching out to them and they're hearing so many things on the news, it's important for the victims to know what the agencies can do for them.
PAMELA ELTON: The FBI helped set up the Family Assistance Center. A lot of the victim family members still had loved ones in the hospital. They didn't know if they were going to be okay, and they were still in the middle of things like possible amputations. And it was a tough day.
KATHLEEN GRIFFIN: The US Attorney, Carmen Ortiz, was very concerned about the victims, and so we were there at the Family Assistance Center to learn what the other agencies had available and to really start prepping ourselves for being the liaison and the advocates for the victims once the case was charged.
KATHLEEN HALL: The number of victims kept getting larger by the minute– people traumatized by what they saw, what they heard, what they witnessed. It put a lot of pressure on us to make sure that victim list was kept updated. And if that meant working 24 hours a day, that's what we did.
PAMELA ELTON: At the Family Assistance Center, we brought in all the local resources. Red Cross was there, the folks that did Crime Victim Compensation were there, we were there– just really a one-stop shop for all the victims to come to, to get any of their questions answered or their needs met.
KATHLEEN GRIFFIN: It's going to be a prolonged period of time where victims need assistance and information. The US Attorney's Office Victim Assistance staff will be working with the victims throughout the life of the prosecution of the criminal case.
KAREN JOYCE-McMAHON: As victim services providers, we're all committed to working for one thing, and that's helping victims as we move forward.
KATHRYN TURMAN: I'm grateful for the dedication of the people that we're lucky enough to work with, both within the FBI and with other victim service agencies.
KAREN JOYCE-McMAHON: The work that was done was an individual and a collective success, that each person that responded really brought their heart and their passion and their caring to what they were doing, and that's really what makes a response like that a success.
