Tragedy is best described as – an event causing great suffering and immense pain – and while the events that took place on Friday are tragic, the word itself doesn’t even begin to describe the feelings associated.
My heart is breaking for another mother. My stomach is in knots and I feel like I am going to throw up. I want to scream, I want to throw something, and I look at my six-year-old and think, how is he here and another mother’s son suddenly not here.
I feel completely helpless.
I know that nothing I do will ever bring back this mother’s son, but thankfully there are a few ways to help the grieving families.
- Share about The Victim Compensation Board
- One of our contributors, Melissa Fisher Goldman, is a grief therapist. She informed me of this valuable resource for families. She was available for those involved in the mass shooting in Las Vegas four years ago. And unfortunately, many people do not know about these valuable resources available to them – for free.
- The Victim Compensation Board will not only cover 40 sessions of counseling/therapy but will also provide resources for those directly associated with the crime. For instance, in the Las Vegas shooting, many of the survivors received weighted blankets, medical bill assistance, physical therapy, and more. A tragedy like this can affect so many people in so many different ways, and therapy is so important to help loved ones cope.
- There are multiple GoFundMe accounts, and the school he attended is also taking donations. Part of these donations will go towards the reward for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for this tragedy.
- Share about the event with people who you know to commute that route.
- Hug your loved ones. We all know that life is precious and can be cut short.
- Check on your friends. You may have friends that knew this family, you may have friends whose children knew Aiden. Check on them.
There may not be a list of a mile long of things that can be done, but as a community, we can help make sure that this never happens again. We can work together to find the person responsible. We can make sure Aiden’s legacy lives on.
We are mothers. And nothing is more powerful than a mother who has been called to step up.
