Early Sunday, June 12, 2016, 49 people were killed in a downtown nightclub. This act of horror is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. This event happened after school had let out for the year, so I didn't need to go into work Monday morning and deal with the impact of this tragedy on my students. In the days that have followed this event, I have seen an outpouring of support in the community and received many emails from fellow counselors about opportunities to help.I think about how I would handle it if this had happened during the year. Violence in the community impacts our children, even when they don't know the victims. It takes away their sense of safety and security.
In light of this act, I decided to post resources for counselors and school personnel related to helping children cope with tragic events and grief and loss.
As I continue this blog, I will post resources related to other topics as well.
Tips for School Personnel from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP):
http://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/school-safety-and-crisis/war-and-terrorism/helping-children-cope-with-terrorism
Tips for Teachers from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC):
www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/helping-children-cope-with-disasters
Publication by the Hospice of Santa Cruz County on Helping Children with Grief:
This publication includes how to talk to children about grief, grief reactions for different developmental levels, and what children at each developmental level need.http://www.hospicesantacruz.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Helping-Children-Understand-Grief-Final-9-2010.pdf
Activities for Counselors to Help Grieving Children and Teens:
http://highland.slcschools.org/academics/counseling-center/documents/HealingActivitiesforGrievingChildrenandTeens.pdf
