How we can help

It is a beautiful morning. As I breathe deeply and appreciate the sun, I can not forget the tragedies that have been happening in our communities.

The most recent tragedy was a school shooting in a town near the one in which I grew up. If there can ever be said to be a typical school shooting, this wasn't it. A young man killed his mother, then drove to the elementary school where she taught. He killed twenty children and six adults there, then killed himself bringing the toll to 28 that I am aware of at this time.

Flag at half mast in Newtown, CT this morning.

Breaking news this morning has revealed no motive.

I am one of the lucky ones - no one I know happened to be hurt or killed. Knowing how lucky I am just amplifies how unlucky some others were. There are 27 families who will never again hold their loved ones who were lost. 20 sets of parents of tiny children who will never see their babies grow up.

If you are able and wish to help the community, here is a story from a local paper that explains how you can help.

http://southbury.patch.com/articles/ways-to-help-sandy-hook

If we wish to make sure this doesn't happen again, we have a lot more work to do. Why did this young man snap? Why do we attach a stigma to asking for mental health help? Why don't we have a system in place to recognize and help people who are in such a dark place that violence seems like a reasonable choice? How can we make changes to assure that this won't happen again?