HIGHLAND PARK (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - A weekly support meeting meant to give Highland Park dads the opportunity to connect and heal from the July 4 mass shooting will meet for a second time tonight.
“We don’t just want to be victims, and this is something I heard at a group talk we did the other day. This man said, ‘don’t just be a victim, be a voice,” said Highland Park resident Chris Falcon.
Falcon said that last week, at Highland Park’s Heima Design House on Central Avenue, more than two dozen dads gathered for the first of what he hopes will become a weekly healing experience.
“We don’t try to give any clinical advice to each other, but everyone is just sharing their story, what they said to their kids,” Falcon said.
He helped organize the “Dads Talk” safe space, a comfortable environment where difficult talk happens as the dads play cards, dice, other games and otherwise lounge in the space. He said one of the greatest things about healing as a collective group, is that even those who choose to remain silent can still get something out of it.
“Just listening to someone else’s story, what they said, what they didn’t say, what they went through or didn’t go through, allows you to take one step forward in your process,” Falcon said.
Through talking and listening about their shared trauma, Falcon said the group are now asking what they can do as parents and members of the community to make an effort to try and make sure what happened does not happen again.
“..So we can look at our children in the eyes, and say, ‘we’re trying,’ and that’s very comforting to this group of dads to know that we have each other’s backs,” said Falcon.
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