El Paso (1080 KRLD) - El Paso County, the City of El Paso and non-profits in West Texas have started work on a project called, "Month of Unity and Healing" leading up to the second anniversary of the shooting at a Wal-Mart two years ago. On August 3rd, 2019, 23 people were killed when investigators say a 21-year-old man from Allen traveled to El Paso and started shooting at the store.
In a manifesto, the suspect wrote of a "Hispanic invasion."
"Only in unity can we bring out the best of humanity and overcome the hatred in our society," says El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego.
"The lives of all El Pasoans were forever changed on August 3, 2019," says Deborah Zuloaga, president and CEO of United Way El Paso.
Sameniego says, over the next month, El Paso will hold concerts, educational events and other activities.
"Don't hold back, thinking you have to do some incredible thing for this unity and healing month. It's just a matter of doing something that portrays the love that we have here in our community," he says. "Every single day, we have an opportunity to have an act of kindness. It could be opening a door for someone. It could be anything."
United Way El Paso has been leading long-term recovery efforts after the shooting, funded by Governor Greg Abbott's office. In December 2019, Zuloaga says the United Way opened a "family resilience center" to offer a "place of healing and support dedicated to serving those directly and indirectly impacted by this tragedy."
She says case workers at the center are connecting people with services to match the needs of people affected by the shooting and their families.
"The United Way, through the family resiliency center, is dedicated to the long-term healing of the community," Zuloaga says. "The lives of all El Pasoans were forever changed by August 3, 2019. As we approach the two year mark, the family resiliency center aims to unite El Pasoans to honor those we lost and send love to those deeply impacted."
The United Way, City of El Paso and El Paso County are also planning a "Luminaria Remembrance Drive-thru" at Ascarate Park on July 30th and will open a "healing garden" about a mile from the site of the shooting the day after this year's anniversary, on August 4th.
"The healing garden is about curing, not just remembering," says David Carrasco a professor at Harvard University whose family is from El Paso. "It's about restoration. It's about hope, about transformation, coming out of this."
Families of the victims have planted 23 trees at the site. Ellen Elmes, an artist who painted a portrait of the victims will attend a celebration planned for July 31st.
A complete list of events planned over the next month is available here.
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