SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Mental health care is more relevant than ever as mass shootings continue to strike with alarming frequency.
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The Centre for Living with Dying is a San Jose-based based group that's been helping people deal with grief and loss since 1976 including the loss from mass casualty incidents.
"At first it was a very difficult sell. I'm going to be honest, people didn't know it was needed," Janet Childs, founder of the Centre for Living with Dying, told KCBS Radio.
She said a lot has changed over the decades as her group helped support the South Bay community through a number of tragedies including last year's San Jose VTA rail yard shooting.
"What we found is that by empowering people to come together and support each other who have survived incidents they become the best support for each other and we can create that safe environment," she explained.
Childs said the frequency of mass shooting incidents underscores the need for such work, which she said should start even before a shooting takes place.
"If we can build resiliency and support for each other beforehand we might be able to identify some of these issues before they turn into tragedies," she said.
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