How Do You Process Traumatic Events Within The Community?
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Our community has dealt with a series of horrible, senseless murders and they've had an effect.
on everyone including us here at WJZ.
Denise Koch reached out to Annette March Grier, who runs Roberta's House, to find out what she tells those who are dealing with grief, loss and trauma.
Koch: How do you make sense of this? How do you digest this?
Grier: This is exactly what we call a series of traumatic events. and it's going to create a hightened sense of fear and stress especially in the communities that deal with unsafety and violence every day. This is going to take a [real] community effort to try and adjust and adapt to all of this violence and harm in our communities.
A lot has happened in our community just this week: murders at city barbershops, a woman stabbed to death in her church, a five-year-old found dead, a 13-year-old girl shot and killed and the death of two little girls at the hands of their father.
Koch: Symptoms?
Grier: When we experience these types of events and hear about this news and see it on the and see it on the television and for those who live in these communities, it is definitely going to cause senses of fear, helplessness, diminished sense of self and ability just to be able to cope. It's going to be over-whelming and just very stressful and people will feel anxious, angry, sad, trouble concentrating and they'll need to talk about what has happened and they'll need support and understanding in making sense of what has happened because really there is no sense to it, and children will be affected by this as well.
Koch: If I came to one of your sessions, what would you say?
Grier: I would validate that perception yes, it does seem to be all those things that you just mentioned," Grier responded. "So what can you do? Helping each other, supporting each other. reaching out to people in your community, praying as a community as we have been. what can you do individually to make this world a safer place or make your community safer? Because there is so much violence and hurt and harm that's happened in our community that we all have a responsibility to share kindness and to share love.