Red Cross Supports Colorado Community After Tragic Shooting

The American Red Cross extends its deepest condolences to those affected by the tragic shooting early Friday morning in Aurora, Colorado.

At the request of local authorities, the Red Cross chapter in Denver sent mental health workers to Gateway High School in Aurora, which was set up as an evacuation center for people who were in the movie theater. The Red Cross also provided food and water to theater patrons as well as emergency responders at the evacuation center.

This has already been a difficult summer for people in the state of Colorado, after extensive wildfires burned hundreds of homes near the cities of Fort Collins and Colorado Springs. Red Cross mental health workers have been helping residents affected by those disasters, and are again available to support residents after this shooting. 

Marilyn Biggerstaff, a licensed clinical social worker with the Red Cross, says that people may experience a range of emotions after a tragedy such as this.

“People may struggle to understand how something like this could happen,” Biggerstaff says. “At a time like this, it’s important to ask for support from people close to you, surround yourself with people and activities that comfort you, and be careful not to overexpose yourself to media reports about the tragedy. This is a time to take care of yourself and your family.”