SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Children traumatized by gun violence need additional support to process what happened, according to experts.
Mindi Russell, a local chaplain and Executive Director, California Chaplains Corps with years of experience working in post trauma care and who most recently worked with students in Uvalde, Texas, says these children need all the help they can get.
Recently Keith Frierson, a 10-year-old boy, was shot and killed and children around the area and those at his school may be traumatized.
“What we hear is that if you can imagine it, you can feel it. So they were very traumatized by just what they imagined,” said Russell. “It was horrific, but we were able to address the children by letting them tell their story and tell it well, not just the area where it was horrible but from the beginning to the end."
She says support from teachers, parents and other important adults in kids' lives can help them cope with traumatic situations.
“Parents being the safe person, being reassuring, helping them understand that this is not something that happens every day,” said Russell. “Reframe that horrible thing that happened to the children moving on and grieving correctly, with good grief instead of bad grief."
The Twin Rivers School District says they are “heartsick by this senseless and tragic loss” as this is an “unspeakable tragedy and our entire Twin Rivers school community is mourning alongside Keith's family and friends... we are part of an incredible community that will pull together to support the family and each other through this difficult time."
They also announced counselors are available for all K-Junior classmates in the coming week when they return from winter break.
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