Huntington Resident Helps Victims Deal With Tragedy in Orlando

One Huntington resident is returning home Wednesday after spending the week down in Orlando providing support for families, first responders and the community following the mass-casualty shooting that occurred at Pulse nightclub earlier this month.

Dr. Tom Hlenski arrived in Orlando Tuesday, June 14 and immediately went to work. He was assigned to a family assistance center in Lake Beauty, an area where an artist erected 49 wooden crosses for those killed in the shooting.

“We’re providing a presence for the people who are coming to view these crosses,” Hlenski told Patch.

Hlenski has also teamed up with dog handlers and traveled to various sites throughout the community where the presence of a comfort dog was needed.

During his weeklong stay at the spot of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, Hlenski said he and his fellow Red Cross volunteers have never seen a community unite quite like this before.

“We are all in agreement that we have never seen a community respond in such a positive way,” he said. “It’s pretty incredible how they’re responding to this.”

Now that the Red Cross is leaving Orlando, it’s time for members of the community to resume their normal lives.

“Things are transitioning back to people having to get back to work,” Hlenski said. “The mood seems extremely strong in Orlando.”

Hlenski has been volunteering with the Red Cross for 11 years to provide disaster mental health services to those impacted by tragedies in Suffolk County and beyond.

Hlenski is a psychotherapist with his own private practice and has 35 years of clinical and research experience.

As Suffolk's lead Red Cross mental health responder, he mainly responds to disasters within Suffolk County, but has deployed for national disasters like the 2009 Buffalo plane crash, Hurricane Sandy, wildfires out west and the East Village explosion.

The Red Cross is a family affair for Hlenski. Five people in his family volunteer with the organization, including his granddaughter and his niece.

To become a volunteer for the Red Cross, go here.