Northridge : Seminar to Examine Quake Victims’ Stress

Victims of the 1994 earthquake are invited to a free workshop Monday in Northridge that will examine the ways of coping with the stress homeowners may experience after a quake, organizers said Wednesday.

At Monday’s meeting, Judith Sherwin, a marriage, family and crisis counselor, will address “the loss that one feels after your home has been damaged by an earthquake,” said Marcie Contreras, assistant director of the nonprofit Community Assisting Recovery.

Contreras said the primary goal of CARe, which was formed in May, 1994, as a way of assisting property owners, is “to educate the survivors of the quake” and to aid them in repairing and strengthening their damaged homes. “We empower them,” she said.

Since last year, the group has held workshops every week dealing with quake-related issues such as insurance claims, contractors, engineers and asbestos, Contreras said.

On Oct. 23, Bob Verbik, CARe’s vice president, will hold an orientation session for first-time workshop attendees and will answer questions about the insurance-claims process. George Kehrer, CARe’s executive director, will lead the Oct. 30 session.

The two-hour seminars, which begin at 7 p.m., are held in Suite 19B of a shopping center at 11145 Tampa Ave. For more information, contact CARe at (818) 363-3062.