With profound sadness and dismay, we extend out heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families, friends, and classmates of the 10 students that were killed, and the 13 students who were injured on Friday, May 18th, 2018 in the mass shooting at the Santa Fe High School in Texas.  This was both needless and senseless, which makes it that much more tragic.  The students are afraid to return to school, and some have decided, in concert with their families, not return to the school at all.  They are seeing counselors, and have a tremendous amount of support, but the consequences of trauma can be horrific.  We hope they find some peace and healing soon.

Adding my own voice to the growing chorus of voices, thoughts and prayers aren’t enough.  Steps need to be taken to change the gun laws.  I would imagine that neither the gun rights, nor gun control advocates wanted something like this to happen.  Most people on both sides apparently agree on some basic, common sense measures, like stronger background checks.  The political will is (very) slowly starting to change.  Look at your congressman’s record on gun laws.  The mid-term elections are the perfect time to let your voice be heard.

We need to eliminate the repeated, senseless carnage that destroys lives and affects all of us. Rule Number One in dealing with trauma is to establish a sense of safety.  We can’t focus on the real problems at hand until we feel safe, and can think straight.  A strong, clear set of laws that most people agree upon, can provide us with that sense of safety.