Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde, Texas, has opened a new, on-site counseling facility to provide ongoing community healing and support following the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.
To mark this memorable milestone, the school held a grand opening ceremony on Friday, September 6, celebrating with key community partners and leaders in attendance, which included Catholic Extension Society.
The counseling facility will be made available to the entire Uvalde community as families and individuals continue the long process of healing in the wake of the mass shooting which took the lives of 19 children, 2 beloved teachers, and left countless other bystanders, families and friends of the victims physically and psychologically wounded.
With the help of Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio, the facility was outfitted and furnished. Additionally, the Children’s Bereavement Center in San Antonio will donate up to 25 hours a week of licensed staff, consisting of on-site, full-time counselors at the school, adding generous support to Sacred Heart’s full-time counselor. Catholic Extension Society, who has a rich and longstanding history with the Uvalde community and helped build Sacred Heart Catholic Church and school over a century ago, provided funding for the facility, seen below at its ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Father Jack Wall, president of Catholic Extension Society said, “We are humbled and honored to support this new center for healing in the Uvalde community. We pray that it will be a source of hope to those who receive services here, reminding them that they are not alone or abandoned in their search for peace.”
Sacred Heart Church in Uvalde has played a pivotal role in helping the community heal since the shooting occurred more than two years ago.
The new mental health facility is just one of many initiatives Catholic Extension Society has supported at this faith community. To date, Catholic Extension Society has awarded 30 full scholarships to children of Robb Elementary who sought to transfer to Sacred Heart Elementary in 2022 as means to heal. Additionally, Catholic Extension Society has partnered with the Uvalde-based Teresian nuns to support camps for children, therapeutic programs and outreach to families in Uvalde.
Learn more on how Catholic Extension Society continues to walk in solidarity with the Uvalde community on a path towards healing.
