Trauma Support

CMCI faculty member documents community rebuilding after 2021 King Soopers shooting

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 19:20:04 +0000

CMCI faculty member documents community rebuilding after 2021 King Soopers shooting Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/14/2022 - 13:20

Photojournalist Ross Taylor spent months documenting community trauma and healing in �鶹ӰԺ after the 2021 King Soopers mass shooting. Taylor shares more about his project, “�鶹ӰԺ Strong: Still Strong, Remembering March 22,” which is on display at the Museum of �鶹ӰԺ now through April 10.

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Mental health is connection

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 14:57:13 +0000

Mental health is connection Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/07/2021 - 08:57

Health and Wellness Services

Making friends as an adult can be challenging, especially after living through a pandemic for a year, but feeling connected gives us a sense of belonging, support and purpose. Get tips to help you make meaningful connections.

Making friends as an adult can be challenging, especially after living through a pandemic for over year, but feeling connected gives us a sense of belonging, support and purpose. Get tips to help you make meaningful connections.

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Campus remembers shooting victims

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 19:48:27 +0000

Campus remembers shooting victims Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/16/2021 - 13:48

Andrew Sorensen

For more than a decade, generations of CU �鶹ӰԺ students, faculty and staff made acquaintance with one of the best friends they could ever have. And through the support of people around the country, her legacy will live on for years to come.

Teri Leiker, a longtime affiliate of the university’s chapter of the national Best Buddies program and superfan of the Golden Buffaloes Marching Band, died on March 22, 2021 during the shooting at King Soopers on Table Mesa. She was remembered during a service April 9 at the CU Events Center.

Her friends and family spoke at the memorial about Leiker’s confidence and charisma, which shone brightly in her decades-long career at King Soopers, as well as in the rest of her life.

Head to toe CU

The night before every CU Football home game, the Golden Buffalo Marching Band lines up in front of the �鶹ӰԺ County Courthouse for the Pearl Street Stampede. It’s a 20-year tradition engineered to hype up Buffs fans, and few were ever as hyped up as Leiker.

“The last few weeks I’ve been thinking back to all of our interactions,” said Matthew Dockendorf, Golden Buffaloes Marching Band director. “She was always there before the marching band got there.”

Without missing a beat upon their arrival, Leiker would unfailingly make a bee-line for Dockendorf or band members, wanting to talk about the band or the next day’s matchup.
“She was just head to toe CU, cheering and singing the fight song,” Dockendorf said. The CU �鶹ӰԺ fight song was so dear to Leiker that it was printed in the booklet at her memorial.

Despite not having a Stampede since 2019, Dockendorf said band members, faculty members and others quickly felt a pull to do something to honor Leiker’s spirit.

“We didn’t know what that was yet, whether that’s a moment of silence or an award at the end of year banquet,” he said.

Then two donors, Marty Coffin Evans and Robert Trembly, stepped in, offering a combined $10,000 to start the Teri Leiker Memorial Marching Band Scholarship. Dockendorf says their goal is to raise $25,000, enabling the scholarship to become an endowment, which would live on in perpetuity.

“We would award an annual scholarship to a student who represents school spirit, generosity, and kindness.” Dockendorf said, all qualities that Leiker embodied.

Dockendorf said the band also plans to hold a moment of silence for Leiker at the next Pearl Street Stampede, which he hopes could be this fall.

“She was a positive influence on so many people. It was such a joy to see her and to see her smile,” he said. “We hope that she can still hear us in the future.”

A great buddy

“I’m going to cry as I think about it,” said CU �鶹ӰԺ Best Buddies faculty advisor Oliver Gerland, who attended the memorial. “She touched people’s lives who went to that King Soopers and would get in line specifically to have her bag their groceries just so they could talk to her.”

Best Buddies is a national organization which looks to end isolation of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. When Gerland began working with CU’s chapter three years ago, Leiker, who had been involved for many years, stood out immediately.

“I saw her as a leader, honestly. She helped me get comfortable with the group,” Gerland said.

After the shooting, the national headquarters of Best Buddies raised nearly $60,000 for Leiker’s family. Best Buddies also announced plans to raise another $150,000 to create a satellite office in �鶹ӰԺ bearing her name.

“The fact that they’re naming it after her is important,” said Liz Lajoie, CU Best Buddies president. “It’s so special that that office is going to expand Best Buddies programming in the West and in Colorado, because Teri loved Best Buddies so much.”

Honoring victims, supporting the community

Leiker was one of ten people killed during the March 22 shooting. CU �鶹ӰԺ has established a committee to honor all of the victims and support the community healing process.

CU �鶹ӰԺ Athletics is also selling #�鶹ӰԺStrong T-shirts, with all profits going to the Colorado Healing Fund.

You can submit other ideas for community support or get involved by visiting the CU �鶹ӰԺ March 22 community support page.

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Processing and remembering with music

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 17:40:51 +0000

Processing and remembering with music Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/09/2021 - 11:40

CU �鶹ӰԺ music student Josh Sweeney has turned to music in the wake of the �鶹ӰԺ tragedy, including recording his own arrangment of Samuel Barber’s famously moving “Adagio for Strings.”

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Get resources for grief and loss

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 16:06:32 +0000

Get resources for grief and loss Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/05/2021 - 10:06

University Libraries Dean Robert McDonald shares a message about the tragic events of March 22 and a selection of resources on the topic of grief and loss.

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Microsoft executive, Moms Demand Action founder to present at Conference on World Affairs

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 16:22:11 +0000

Microsoft executive, Moms Demand Action founder to present at Conference on World Affairs Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/02/2021 - 10:22

Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Commercial Partner Gavriella Schuster and Moms Demand Action Founder Shannon Watts will deliver keynote addresses at CU �鶹ӰԺ's 73rd Conference on World Affairs April 5–11.

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Photos: Student group hosts rally to honor March 22 victims

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 15:50:49 +0000

Photos: Student group hosts rally to honor March 22 victims Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/02/2021 - 09:50

Students Demand Action at CU �鶹ӰԺ hosted a rally March 29, beginning with a CU moment of silence, on the steps of Norlin Library to honor victims and provide a bridge between students and the larger community.

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How to cope when emotions are raw and people may be feeling so many different things

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 22:17:59 +0000

How to cope when emotions are raw and people may be feeling so many different things Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/29/2021 - 16:17

Lisa Marshall

Days after the tragic shooting at King Soopers in the Table Mesa Shopping Center, members of the �鶹ӰԺ community and beyond continue to grapple with an array of emotions, from unspeakable grief and anger to a sense of powerlessness to a worry that after a year of so much bad news, we may be growing numb.

Traumatic event resources and support available

In light of the tragedy at King Soopers in �鶹ӰԺ on March 22, we offer support resources and updates to our community.

Learn More

All these emotions are valid, and some of us may feel all of them over time, says Sona Dimidjian, director of the Renée Crown Wellness Institute at CU �鶹ӰԺ. How we respond to them, she says, can make a difference in how we as individuals and as a community come through this.

CU �鶹ӰԺ Today sat down with Dimidjian to discuss the tragedy and mental health issues surrounding it.

Every time something like this happens, it’s emotionally devastating. What’s uniquely challenging about this time?

We first need to recognize that this tragedy is unimaginable just in and of itself. Then, we need to acknowledge the context of the past year. People have experienced social isolation and disconnection in unprecedented ways, and endured increased racialized violence and hate, and repeated personal and family loss.

In ‘normal’ times, we would hug one another or go out to eat or to a movie to feel better. That’s tough now. What can we do?

This is so true. I went to bring some food to a family who was very close in proximity to what happened last week. Upon greeting them I went to give them a hug, but seconds into it I remembered we needed to be 6 feet apart. That was really tough.

Many ways we have to connect and offer comfort are not possible now. But we just need to keep reaching out to each other and stay connected remotely. When we can be together in person, we need that, too. One aspect of this past year of the pandemic is that we have recognized how interconnected we are. We need each other in order to grieve and heal.

Sona Dimidjian

I’ve talked to some people who say they just feel ‘numb.’ They’re worried they are becoming desensitized to tragedy after such a tough year. Are they?

It’s important to realize there is a wide range of very common responses people may be experiencing now. Also, what you feel now will likely shift in the coming days. There is not one “right” response.

You may experience moments when distressing thoughts or emotions insert themselves into your awareness. All of a sudden, there it is, right in front of you. You may experience distance and detachment, not wanting to talk about it. Or trouble sleeping or concentrating. Some feel on edge, perhaps anxious going out to grocery stores or to other public places. I think a lot of people also have a deep feeling of fatigue and hopelessness.

Pay attention to how long these persist. Do they interfere with your ability to connect and come together with others and engage in activities that are meaningful and important? Know also that there can be an opportunity here to feel awareness of connection and gratitude for community and motivation to take action and support one another.

Are there things we can do to keep from becoming desensitized?

My colleagues and I recently did a study looking at how people responded to stories and images of people who are suffering. Over a one-month period, we compared people who did a simple compassion meditation practice, sending care and wishing others freedom from pain and violence in their lives, and those who did not. We found that the compassion meditation practice yielded measurable benefits, while those who looked at the images and heard the stories but had no tools to take action expressed less compassion over time.

It shows it is important to have some ways of responding to the suffering of others. We all have the capacity to respond to the compassion in us, and compassion is a skill that needs to be practiced in order to be strengthened.

I’ve also talked to people who just feel powerless—after Columbine, Aurora, now this. Are there things we can do to feel less powerless?

Absolutely. Part of compassion is that it motivates action. I think it is critical to act and act in coordinated and collaborative ways to prevent tragedies like this from occurring. I think we see this motivation for action now. At the same time, it is important to recognize that many people are in shock right now and grieving. It is important to make time to mourn.

One thing is certain: We are not returning to business as usual. To create a different future, we must pay attention to and really feel and honor the losses of the present right now and act from there.

What advice do you have for people in our community for the coming days?

The Crown Institute has designed some tools. They include a very simple breathing practice that encourages people to pause, pay attention to what is happening in the moment and move into the next moment with awareness. They also include guidance in how to mindfully do familiar activities, as these routine activities can give us a sense of comfort and predictability and a way to anchor our attention when the world around us feels so scary and unpredictable. They also include specific ideas for how to be kind, to listen and to learn from one another.

What should the university community, specifically, keep in mind?

Rely on each other and know it is OK to ask for help. It is a sign of strength, and it builds strength to both give help and ask for help at this time. As a professor and a mom of a first-year CU student, I would also tell our students that it is OK if you are feeling overwhelmed and you are struggling with classes or schoolwork.

The same goes for our faculty and staff. Many of us are still reeling. The work that can happen here at our university is so important, and when people are exposed to a trauma as occurred last week, we need time to support each other and time to recover. We can trust that the learning and teaching and research will happen in due time. To get there, let’s hold each other with care.

Grief, anger, powerlessness and worry––in a tragic event, all of these emotions are valid and some may feel all of them over time, says Sona Dimidjian, director of the Renée Crown Wellness Institute. Learn more.

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Student group to hold rally March 29 on Norlin steps

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:22:51 +0000

Student group to hold rally March 29 on Norlin steps Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/26/2021 - 17:22

Students Demand Action at the �鶹ӰԺ will host a rally honoring the victims of the March 22 tragedy in �鶹ӰԺ. The rally will provide a bridge between CU �鶹ӰԺ students and the larger �鶹ӰԺ community and give people a concrete way to engage in the need for sensible gun legislation. This tragic shooting underscores a gun violence crisis in the U.S. Colorado also experiences daily gun violence in cities and towns across the state that don’t make national headlines––gun violence that disproportionately impacts communities of color in Colorado.

Rally details

WHO: Students Demand Action at the �鶹ӰԺ
WHAT: Buffaloes over Bullets: A rally honoring victims and survivors
WHEN: Monday, March 29, 2021, at 2:30 p.m. MT
WHERE: Steps of Norlin Library, �鶹ӰԺ
RSVP:Sign up here

Students Demand Action at CU �鶹ӰԺ will host a rally at 2:30 p.m. Monday, March 29, on the steps of Norlin Library to honor the victims of the recent shooting in �鶹ӰԺ and provide a bridge between students and the larger community.

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Join CU in a moment of silence March 29

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 11:55:28 +0000

Join CU in a moment of silence March 29 Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/26/2021 - 05:55

The CU community will hold a moment of silence in honor of those who lost their lives and those impacted by the tragedy in �鶹ӰԺ. Students, faculty and staff are asked to take a moment of silence at 2:30 p.m. Monday, March 29, to reflect on this tragic event.

Traumatic event resources and support are available.

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