It’s been a horrible five days. I doubt anyone in the community has not been effected by the tragedy of last Saturday.  Personally, I have had moments of intense grief, not just because I knew some of the victims, but because of my personal losses due to mental illness. Some of the images and stories have sent me back to that time of pain and anguish. We still don’t know that the carnage was caused by a young man suffering from a serious mental illness, but all signs are pointing in that direction. The pain being experienced by the parents and families of the victims and of the accused shooter have to be excruciating.

As I did back in 2005 after my son died, I am trying to refocus my energy on healing, positive thoughts.  We all agree that negative rhetoric and threats of violence have increased over the last several years and I think we all can agree it’s not the direction we want to go in.  Like previous National tragedies, there is a collective sadness in our country today and I  hope that we can embrace this united energy to refocus and march forward into a more compassionate, tolerant society that appreciates each other’s differences and has empathy for those that are our most vulnerable.

As I watch President Obama speak this evening, I will be thinking of the beautiful lives lost and the potential for a new beginning for our country.  Learning about the “Angels” that will be present at the funerals give me hope.  See more information on them at:  http://www.tucsonmemorial.org/help.html

There is an excellent article on healthy grieving that I think can help at

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100268947&GT1=31009

A listing of online resources to assist in dealing with the tragedy in Tucson has been posted on the CPSA website and is on the SAMHSA website.