I rarely blog about my professional life.. reason being that I run a Reintegration program that works with high risk offenders with sexual designation. That's a hard thing for a mom to say.. but I do it because I don't want any more victims. I work with these ( usually men) men who are aware of their past, their victims and realizations they never want to hurt another human again. I do have statistics showing that only 23% of sex offenders will reofffend, and I attribute this to the fact they are often the inmates that receive the most lengthy sentences and are pumped through numerous programs. ( please feel free to contact me if you want more discussion on this.. I'm very open to discussing this topic and respectful of peoples views of it as well)
So as a mom and professional , the news on the Aurora shootings of last night has peaked my interest. I am very saddened to hear that so far 12 lives were lost and there is 31 victims, including a 3 month old baby. As a mom, if I had been able to take my baby to a late night movie I would have. Being a mom and stuck at home all the time isn't glorious and not always can we find sitters for youngens. So there is no reason for people to want justification for why this young baby was in the theatre. However, as a mom.... my heart is broken for this family whose baby is fighting for its life. Who thinks going to a movie theatre at midnight would end up in such a horrific end.
I was also sadden to hear the story of Jessica Redfield, a young lady who also was at the movie and lost her life. From my understanding, she was a sports anchor and very involved in the hockey world. I see on twitter she tweeted that the movie was to start in only minutes... Little did she know this would be her last tweet.
Jessica was also a blogger... http://jessicaredfield.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/late-night-thoughts-on-the-eaton-center-shooting/ This is her last entry. She discussed how she barely missed being a victim of the Eaton Centre shootings in Toronto. She seemed to value her life and be thankful she walked out of the food court within seconds of the shooter... Little did she know a month or so later she would lose her life to such violence.
As a professional, I am very aware of VICARIOUS trauma. This is trauma that the public and/or professionals feel and suffer from after being privy to such violent events. I personally suffer from this at times after reading a clients file, the descriptions of their crimes often makes me feel sick to my stomach and I have to take time to take care of myself ( i.e. family time, running etc) to be able to deal with it. I think that the media brings this trauma to the public as well. With the wide discussion of these shootings you see mass discussions on social media sights.. people are sickened.. saddened and very upset. Unfortunately, media will always report on the latest and will always make things worse then what really is. However, with this event.. It couldn't get much worse.
I have attached a link to some material on Vicarious Trauma. It discusses what this trauma is and how people can work through it. http://headington-institute.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2648
Prayers and thoughts go out to all of the victims and their families in Colorado.. Hug your loved ones extra today. You never know what a day brings.
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