Survivors tell panel of experts that damage from school shootings lasts for years
WASHINGTON — Survivors, experts and educators who spoke Monday at a roundtable with Democrats on the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee said the devastating effects of school shootings continue long after the shootings. .
Democrats framed the discussion in the wake of recent school shootings in Georgia, Two students and two teachers were killed. Witnesses told the panel that the psychological trauma of school shootings extends far beyond the events themselves.
“In the months and years after a mass shooting, young people injured or injured in the attack experience ongoing fear, pain, trauma and disorientation as they struggle to sustain themselves,” the committee’s top Democrat said. All that remains of life.
The roundtable was held on the one-year anniversary of the establishment of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to speak on gun violence at the White House on Thursday.
There have been 404 mass shootings this year According to the Gun Violence Archivesan organization that studies gun violence in the United States
Trauma doesn’t “go away”
Several educators at the roundtable advocated for Congress to provide more funding for schools to address the long-term effects of school shootings.
“Trauma doesn’t go away over a period of time,” said Frank DeAngelis, who was the principal of Columbine High School during the 1999 mass shooting in Colorado.
DeAngelis is also a founding member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ Principal Recovery Network, which helps educators respond to school shootings.
Greg Johnson, principal of West Liberty-Salem High School in Ohio, said that although no students died in the 2017 school shooting, students and staff suffered lasting trauma.
“The sound of ear-piercing shotgun blasts was heard by hundreds of students who barricaded classroom doors and sought safety in random ditches and fields before evacuating,” he said. “Many are traumatized, Our students suffer in silence despite almost everyone’s best efforts to hide it by wearing a mask of strength and normalcy.
Sarah Burd-Sharps, senior research director at Everytown for Gun Safety, added that the annual economic cost of gun violence is estimated at more than $550 billion.
mental health funding
Patricia Greer, principal of Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., said that while the bipartisan gun safety bill passed by Congress in 2022 provides significant funding for mental health, Congress should consider increasing such funding to help students and Faculty and staff recover from trauma.
“Schools are in a unique position to provide mental health supports, but they need our help to meet growing needs,” Greer said.
She urges Congress to consider increasing funding for Title II and IV to support professional development for educators and expand school-based mental health services. These titles refer to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides federal grants to schools.
“Recovery requires ongoing support and resources,” she said. “By increasing… Title II funding to $2.4 billion and Title IV funding to $1.48 billion, we can provide schools with the resources they need to prevent tragedies and support students through trauma.”
“Mass shootings are not something you get over,” said Melissa Alexander, whose son survived the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.
She said her son, who was 9 at the time, called her during the shooting and begged her to save him.
“He was ready to die,” she said.
Alexander, now a gun safety advocate, said despite her deep red status, Nearly 75% of residents support some type of red flag law. Such laws allow courts to order the temporary seizure of firearms from people who are at risk of harming themselves or others.
Despite widespread support, state lawmakers have yet to take action, she said.
“That didn’t translate to the (state) Legislature,” she said.
