Responding to Gun
Violence Camp
Introduction to gun
violence
Greif, anger, survivors guilt,
postpartum depression, these are just some of the many emotions survivors and
families affected by gun violence have to deal with long after everyone else
has moved on. Anyone who has been directly impacted by gun violence especially
while at school will never be the same. The survivors and parents of the
Jonesboro school shooting were no different.
After the 1998 Jonesboro School
Shooting, Ferncliff Camp saw that this community was in distress and wanted to
put on a week of camp specifically for the survivors. Ferncliff knew that this
wasn’t going to cure the kids of their emotions or make them forget about the
shooting. Instead it was designed to be a camp designed to help the kids learn
how to deal with their emotions and to support them. They worked with their
contacts in the Jonesboro area to put on a camp that would meet the survivor’s
needs.
The
camp was a huge success and they continued putting on these camps for the
Jonesboro survivor’s for many years afterward. They have also put on this type
of camp for other school shootings including the Columbine school massacre.
These camps have helped many kids try and deal with what has happened to them.
Ferncliff has seen the good these camps can do and are actively trying to
expand the use of camps like these to other camps around the country.
Responding to Gun Violence Training
A few
weeks ago a Ferncliff in a joined partnership with Presbyterian Camp and
Conference Center (PCCCA) and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) put on a
training seminar for other camps to learn how to run a week long camp if there
was ever a school shooting in the respective camp’s area. In attendance at the
event were leaders Ferncliff had brought to help with the camps after the
school shootings, representatives from PDA and PCCCA, camp professionals, gun
safety advocates, survivors, and families of victims of school shootings.
To
start out with we were welcomed to the training and then given a history of
Ferncliff and responding to school violence. We learned about how after the
Jonesboro School shooting Ferncliff worked with locals to figure out something
to do for the survivors that would be beneficial to them. This including using
buses from other schools to transport the kids so they weren’t followed so they
could have a sacred place to deal with their emotions. They also brought in
spiritual leaders to.
After that we talked about the different activities they used that the
survivors felt were beneficial and we learned things that many people may not
think about that might cause the survivors to have and people trained to deal with post-traumatic stress to give the kids someone to talk to if they wanted flashbacks or that might
create panic.
The
next day we got to hear from the survivors themselves. The first two to talk
were survivors from Jonesboro and Columbine. They told their stories in grave
detail and then shared how their lives have never been the same since. They
also told us their experiences with school violence camps. Both of them talked
about their feelings before and after camp and how their lives are still being
affected by the school shooting.
Next up was another survivor of
Jonesboro and her mother, the daughter shared her story about the shooting and
her experiences with camp and dealing with the post dramatic stress. Her mother
talked about not knowing the fate of her daughter and the pain of seeing her
daughter in so much emotional pain and being able to do very little. They then
talked about how Ferncliff Camp had helped them both out. The quote that stuck
out to me the most from the mother who said “More than anything else Ferncliff
Camp helped me get my daughter back.”
After that we got to hear from the
dad who lost his son in the Isla Vista shooting and the daughter of the
principal at Sandy Hook. They talked about the day they lost their loved ones
and about the pain they have felt every day since losing their loved one and
the stress that comes with dealing with people especially the media.
Everyone who attended the
conference was incredibly moved by these people’s stories and how open they
were. It wasn’t easy to share about their experiences and how they are still
dealing with these issues. I don’t think most people have any idea about the
impact that school violence can have and how long-term it can be.
The day
finished up will a group called Mom’s Demand Action who talked about what they
are trying to do to put an end to gun violence and promote gun safety. After
that we had a beautiful worship service where we added rocks to the collection
of rocks from previous school shootings to the labyrinth.
How to not add to the
problem
After a shooting there are several
things that can make things even worse for survivors and those who lost loved
ones. One is donations. Each person talked about receiving so much material possessions
that they became overwhelmed and just added the problems they were dealing
with. An example of this was one of the people said she was given a horse after
her experience. She didn’t own a farm or have much experience riding on a horse
but someone thought it would help. Instead of giving in-kind donations to
survivors, monetary donations to organizations that provide emotional and
spiritual care to survivors would be more beneficial.
Another
thing is media. Most people like to know what’s happening but the media can be
very detrimental when they don’t give the survivors and family members of
victim’s space. Each person talked about how the media didn’t give them the
proper space to grieve. One person said she received a bouquet of flowers from
an anonymous person. A nice gesture if the bouquet hadn’t been bugged most
likely from a media person who was trying to find out where things might be
happening. Also they weren’t fond of certain media outlets that focus on the
shooter and in away getting what the shooter wanted, attention.
Conclusion
Gun
violence is nothing like I have seen before. These people have very deep pain
and emotions. Even though the events happened when they were 11 and it happened
15 years ago they still have to deal with these issues almost every day. They
were brave though and were very open about their experiences. These camps can
be a difference maker in helping survivors live get back to living as normal
lives as possible. The hope is that the camps in attendance never have to use
this training at all but could put the camp on if need be. Let’s hope and pray
we find a way to stop the violence and promote peace.
*There were two more sessions the next day. However because
of a YAV retreat we were unable to attend.
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