Twenty years ago, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 shocked the nation and opened a new age of insecurity, fear and anxiety. We could not have imagined back then we would suffer through a pandemic that would once again shake our sense of safety to the core.

New York City was at the epicenter of both calamities.

It’s encouraging to remember how UFT members met the challenge 20 years ago, as we continue to navigate the twists and turns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Educators took charge at the moment of the terrorist attacks, guiding students to safety as the towers fell and offering calm and reassurance. After 9-11, we mourned our losses and adapted to a new world of heightened security measures. The UFT fought for the permanent funding of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and made sure the union’s members who worked in the vicinity of Ground Zero knew their rights to compensation for illnesses related to their exposure to the debris.

UFT members stepped up again when the virus hit in 2020. Federation of Nurses/UFT members worked tirelessly in hospitals teeming with gravely ill New Yorkers and public school educators created remote classrooms within a week, sharing their expertise with colleagues who were less technologically savvy. Once again, we mourned our losses and adapted to a new world of masks and other public health measures.

The UFT fought for safety protocols — adequate ventilation, social distancing, random testing and an ample supply of masks and other personal protective equipment — that allowed school buildings to reopen safely last September. Now members are poised to provide the social-emotional support their students will need to recover from this rupture in their lives.

A health crisis is different from a terrorist attack, of course. But it is good to remember the courage and resilience that helped the city recover from one of its darkest days and will help it rebound once again.