NEW ALBANY, Ind. — A group of southern Indiana community leaders and organizations have put out a letter to the community to show support after recent gun violence in the area.
According to a news release, "the agencies want to make sure the community is aware that it is normal to be impacted by a traumatic event, even if not personally involved."
They mention the shooting at Harvest Homecoming in early October.
New Albany Police Department said they believe at least two groups of individuals were involved in some type of dispute, leading up to the shooting.
The gunfire hit and killed 18-year-old Bryce Gerlach of Corydon, Indiana along with a 22-year-old man and 41-year-old woman who were both injured. Police said all three were innocent bystanders and unrelated to the dispute.
The groups also want to provide resources for people dealing with the traumatic fall out from these events.
They list common symptoms of trauma like feeling anxious, sad, or angry, trouble concentrating or sleeping, continued thinking about the incident, or feeling on guard and alert all the time.
People can also experience physical reactions like an upset stomach, limited appetite, crying often and frequent headaches.
You can read the full community letter below:
*the article continues after the letter*
Several community events are being planned to help people who could benefit from talking about their feelings and beginning a healing process.
Those events are still being planned but the groups also list some resources community members can use in the meantime:
- Call the LifeSpring Crisis Call Center at 833-SAFE988 for an immediate crisis response.
- Participate in the Brandon’s House Counseling Center group therapy for teens 13-19 impacted (directly or indirectly) by the Harvest Homecoming event. Call Tuesdays 6-7PM. Contact 812-949-2499 to register.
- Contact Centerstone for outpatient assistance at 877-HOPE123.
- Contact LifeSpring Health Systems for outpatient assistance at 812-280-2080
- Contact Family Ark Behavioral Health Services For Assistance at 812-288-6600
- Reach out to school counselors or primary care providers, including pediatricians, for more information.
Groups named as participating in this initiative are:
- Arts Alliance of Southern Indiana The Domino Affect
- Brandon’s House Family Ark
- CASA of Floyd County The Floyd County Library
- Centerstone Leadership Southern Indiana
- Childplace LifeSpring Health Systems
- Clark Floyd Systems of Care and others
