Another school shooting occurred this week, this time in Nashville, Tennessee. This kind of violence is perhaps one of the greatest forms of injustice that we routinely witness in our country. Lives are taken, hearts are broken and innocence is shattered all for nothing.
But, it is after these shootings fall from the headlines when the true extent of the damage is realized.
Catholic Extension Society received an update this week from the people we support in Uvalde, Texas, for whom it has been ten months since a lone gunman with a high-powered weapon entered Robb Elementary and took the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
Things are far from normal in Uvalde, and their experience gives insight into the long road that is ahead for any community, like Nashville, witnessing such senseless violence and disregard for human life.
People do not simply bounce back from something this traumatic. Even the simple pleasures of life can seem daunting according to Sister Mary Lou Aldape, a Teresian Sister, who works with the student transfers from Robb Elementary at Sacred Heart Catholic School who are receiving scholarships from Catholic Extension Society.
She says that the children, “are worrying about being safe and being able to be outdoors, playing baseball, visiting friends…all things that they miss or are somehow different than they used to be.”
This is why Catholic Extension Society has made a long-term commitment to fund mental health services, Catholic school scholarships and extracurricular activities for the children and families of this community. Sister Mary Lou says students seek counseling on a daily basis,
While the tension has eased, the students still seek assistance and need to be assured that they are important to us and we are here to help.”
Sister Mary Lou adds, “sometimes they want to talk about their pets, or their brothers and sisters, or family matters, or schoolwork, or needing help with an issue with a friend.”
Traumatized adults
The trauma is as deep for the parents as it is for the children. Despite the world-class security and safety systems that have been implemented at Sacred Heart School, Sister Mary Lou says families are anxious about their children’s safety while at school.
“Last month we had a lockdown created when a person was in the church and a parishioner became alarmed,” Sister Marylou recalled. “The police were called and it soon became evident that no one was in danger of getting hurt. However, families were alarmed and rushed to the school to gather their children. While this did not last long and all was attended to, we could see and feel the terror in the parents and children.”
The incredible teachers who heroically journey with these wounded children each day for little compensation, also need reassurance. “They need assurance that they are being helpful, sincere, empathic, and at the same time tending to the business of teaching,” Sister Mary Lou explained.
She continued further,
Teachers have full loads on their hands every day. They need time to decompress and be friends as well as leaders on the campus. Having support for them is a major need.”
Thanks to your support, Sacred Heart School has a full-time counselor that works with individual students and with each class from pre-K through 6th grade each week. The counseling is helping people stay connected instead of suffering in silence, and helps children be aware of their feelings and acting appropriately.
Art therapy has been a part of the healing process, including games—that simply help the children be children again.
The parish has also done its part to reach out to families with spiritual support. “Sacred Heart Catholic Church continues to say special Masses for the children of Uvalde,” Sister Mary Lou says. “Our priest invites families to participate in events held at our parish such as retreats, prayer groups, and community involvement.”
Other groups and partners are also providing care to these families, including the Children’s Bereavement Center, which sends four counselors to Sacred Heart school each week. Students are able to visit counselors at other centers such as Uvalde County Mental Health Center, Family Services Association, and Cross Roads Behavioral Health Services in Uvalde.
Catholic Extension Society continues to invite religious sisters from across the country to Uvalde as volunteers to work with the children. During their Spring Break, children attended Camp I-CAN – which stands for Inner strength, Commitment, Awareness and Networking. The camp, organized and led by Teresian Sister, Dolores Aviles, is a healing ministry that offers a space of joy and security for children who were impacted by the school shooting in May of last year. The children engaged in art therapy, played dodgeball, and had fun.
Daring to have hope for the future
The long road to recovery continues. Thankfully, there are many great resources that can help facilitate healing. Scholarship recipients at Sacred Heart are already registering for the upcoming school year, knowing that they can continue to study in a safe and loving environment next fall and continue with counseling.
Additionally, the children can look forward to a summer filled with camps and summer school, especially helpful to those students who have missed a lot of school this past year due to stress.
Hopefully, as time goes on, simple things like going outside to play baseball won’t be as scary. And, with the support of a larger “village” of benefactors and partners like you, the children and families of Uvalde will find peace once again and pleasure in the simple daily activities of life, and they will enjoy a prosperous future, assured of God’s love for them every day of their lives. That was the dream when Catholic Extension Society built Sacred Heart Church and school in the early 1900s, and it continues to be our dream today.
