Scores of therapists gear up, give free services after two Parkland suicides
.JPG "Students embrace outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, after being released from a lockdown on Feb. 14, 2018, after a gunman’s rampage. Seventeen students and staff at the school were killed.")
After the news that two Parkland shooting survivors killed themselves within a week’s span, scores of South Florida therapists are rallying and volunteering their time to offer free services to the community.
Below is a growing list of local resources on the ground for those in need; it will be continuously updated.
THERAPY
Trauma-trained therapists — all of whom are part of the network Professionals United for Parkland — are volunteering their time during spring break at several Broward County locations. Children and their parents can walk in for unlimited sessions or just hang around and participate in planned activities. Here are the locations:
▪ Coral Springs Museum of Art — 2855 Coral Springs Drive — will be open from Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 954-340-5000.
▪ The Broward County Resiliency Center (BCRC) at Pines Trail Park Amphitheater, at 10561 Trails End in Parkland, has clinicians available from noon to 7 p.m. daily until April 1. Call 954-684-4265.
▪ Eagles’ Haven at 5655 Coral Ridge Drive in Coral Springs is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 954-203-4249.
EVENTS
▪ Parkland MSD Community Peer Support Event, Fort Lauderdale Marriott Coral Springs Hotel, Tuesday, April 2, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., 11775 Heron Bay Boulevard in Coral Springs.
According to organizers, “the event will provide outreach to the Parkland Marjory Stoneman Douglas (“MSD”) school community members — victims’ families, survivors and responders — from September 11, Columbine, and Vegas communities focused on peer support and other means of healing by sharing our experiences.”
Here are the speakers:
▪ Fred Guttenberg: Father of Jaime Guttenberg killed on Feb. 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Fla., and brother of Michael Guttenberg, a fallen Sept. 11, 2001, first responder.
▪ Mike Dempsey: Survivor of the World Trade Center attack on 9/11 and Vegas shooting on Oct. 1, 2017.
▪ Rev. Bill Minson: Chaplain for 9/11, Vegas and Parkland.
▪ Heather Martin: Columbine shooting survivor and founder of the Rebels Project.
▪ Barbara Poma: CEO and executive director of onePULSE Foundation.
▪ Mary Fetchet: Mother of Bradley Fetchet, 2 WTC, 89th floor, killed on 9/11, and co-founder of VOS11.
▪ Jake Campbell: Son of Jill Maurer-Campbell, 2 WTC, 78th floor, killed on 9/11.
▪ Nelba Marquez-Greene: Founder of The Ana Grace Project, in honor of her daughter Ana Márquez-Greene, killed at Sandy Hook on Dec. 14, 2012.
▪ Natalie Gutman: Israeli terrorist-attack survivor, representing Strength to Strength.
▪ Edie Lutnick: Sister of Gary Lutnick, 1 WTC, 104th floor, killed on 9/11, and president and CEO, Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund.
▪ Anthony Gardner: SVP, Government & Community Affairs, National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and brother of Harvey Joseph Gardner, 1 WTC, 83rd floor,, killed on 9/11.
CALL FOR HELP
Broward County Public Schools is advising parents who feel their child is at risk to call the following:
▪ Parkland Cares, 954-740-MSD1 (6731)
▪ Henderson Behavioral Health, Crisis Services
954-677-3113 Option 3
▪ Crisis Text Line: Text “FL” to 741741 for a live counselor
This story was originally published March 25, 2019 at 2:53 PM.
