(WSLS 10) - John Lambeth, the interim director of the JYF in Paris and Nice Program provided updates on the developing situation in Paris, France.
According to Lambeth, the program is open and running in Paris.
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After verifying the location and welfare of all 36 of their students in Paris, members have been putting together a crisis response program. They've been in regular contact with the students, including nine who had left the country for the weekend, and with their parents.
Program leaders advised students to stay at home with their host families in Paris, following the advice of the French authorities and the American Embassy. They've asked students to come to Reid Hall, a large secure location in Paris, for a group meeting Monday with a counseling psychologist who is an expert in crisis intervention.
Classes will resume as normal on Tuesday, November 17. Arrangements have been made to have counseling psychologists available for individual appointments with students for the next two weeks and longer if necessary.
Lambeth says they're reinforcing security at the entrance to Reid Hall and meeting with the police commissioner to discuss security.
"It is too early to say whether students may want to return to the U.S. before the semester ends. We know that this is a possibility and have been in contact with the colleges and universities represented on our program in the eventuality that students may ask to return. For the moment we are focusing on the immediate needs of our students and trying to help them deal with these traumatic events in Paris," Lambeth said.
There were 10 JYF students in Paris at the time of the attacks. As of Sunday night, all but two were back in Seville. The two who remained chose to do so, officials say.