# Bill oral history interview conducted by Laurel Gumpert, June 18, 2020

After a career in entertainment, Reverend Bill became an ordained minister, and his work included consulting for the superintendents of education in various districts from Louisiana to New York. He also served as a chaplain for the U.S. Secret Service, Red Cross, and Salvation Army. On 9/11, Reverend Bill was in New York visiting President Clinton's office in Harlem. He volunteered as a Red Cross chaplain and began working at the Armory two days after the attacks. Reverend Bill worked at all five family assistance centers and always made himself available to 9/11 families and responders, even after he left New York. He worked to help the responders practice self-care to allow healing. He explained to them that it will take time to feel better, and connected people with others who experienced disasters to show proof that they can move forward. In the five years he committed to helping 9/11 victims, he met over 400 responder families and is now approaching nineteen years of working with them. He doesn't believe that his work during 9/11 was enough, so he continues to give and be available to those in need. Reverend Bill wants people to remember that we have gotten through difficult events in the past and there is hope that we will keep moving forward.

- Kind: Interview
- Year: 2020
- Runtime: 1 h 1 min
- By: Gumpert, Laurel
- Genres: History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2015048_444/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/afc2015048_444?play=1)