Tag Archives: el paso shooting

On Monday, the One Fund El Paso Task Force announced the final distribution of $11,518,558.30 in donated funds to victims of the August 3, 2019 mass shooting in El Paso.

The National Compassion Fund is handling the distribution of the funds donated after the shooting, which left 22 people dead.

Total donations to One Fund El Paso were $11,833,588.30, with $315,000 being utilized to provide immediate assistance to victims confirmed by law enforcement between August and November.

The remaining $11,518,588.30 is being distributed among approved applicants for funding.

A total of 363 applications, out of 441 received, were approved by the National Compassion Fund for the non-taxable gifts, which were donated by thousands of caring individuals, businesses and organizations from the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez-Las Cruces borderplex, the United States and around the world.

Applications had to meet the requirements outlined in the Final Protocol to receive approval. Denials occurred for several reasons, including, but not limited to, incomplete applications after several contact attempts, not being present, or not having received specified medical services.

Approved applications were received from American and Mexican citizens.

According to the Final Protocol, victims could apply for benefits in one of four categories — death; long-term injury; short-term injury; and psychological trauma.

The identities of the recipients and the amounts that will be allocated in each category will not be revealed in order to protect the privacy and security of victims and their families.

“The significant funds raised is a testament to the strength and generosity of this community,” said Jeffrey R. Dion, Executive Director of the National Compassion Fund, which administered One Fund El Paso. “We are extremely grateful to the community partners who helped survivors submit their applications, and those who validated victims’ presence and treatment to instill confidence in our process.”

“One Fund El Paso, the collaboration between the El Paso Community Foundation and the Paso del Norte Community Foundation, has demonstrated the unity that is so characteristic of El Paso,” added One Fund El Paso Coordinator Stephanie Karr, former director of the Center Against Family and Sexual Violence.

“The generosity of donors, compassion of individuals and many acts of kindness have helped alleviate the pain and anguish of our families. I am most proud of the work of the One Fund El Paso Task Force, which did the hard work of navigating how best to distribute the collected funds in a fair and transparent manner.”

Officials also remind the public that on December 19, the United Way of El Paso County and the County of El Paso will open the El Paso United Family Resiliency Center, 6314 Delta Drive. It will offer ongoing programs, services and support to those impacted by the shooting.

Go to elpasounited.org, or call 915-533-2434, ext. 220 for more information.

One Fund El Paso is a single entity by the City of El Paso, the El Paso Community Foundation and Paso del Norte Community Foundation to streamline the process of distributing donated funds to victims of the mass shooting.

One Fund El Paso contracted with the National Compassion Fund and established a task force of representatives of charitable, governmental and nonprofit entities to set policies and provide a recommendation to the One Fund El Paso Board of Directors for the fair distribution of funds in the most transparent manner.

The administrative costs of One Fund El Paso are being paid for by the El Paso Community Foundation and Paso del Norte Community Foundation to ensure that 100% of donated funds went to victims and their families.

On Wednesday, officials with WellMed Charitable Foundation (WCF) donated over $575,000 to the El Paso Strong fund, set up to help victims of the August 3 Walmart massacre.

WellMed presented the check to City Representative Henry Rivera and Paso del Norte Community Foundation CEO, Tracy Yellen at WellMed’s new location at 615 Zaragoza.

The gift represents the largest donation from one group to Paso del Norte for One Fund El Paso.  Three of the 22 victims killed in the El Paso shooting were WellMed patients.

Soon after the tragedy, the WCF set up the El Paso Strong fund and asked WellMed employees to donate to help victims and families. WellMed matched donations from WellMed employees. Employees in all WellMed markets contributed to the El Paso Strong fund.

Additionally, WellMed founder Dr. George Rapier and his wife Kym pledged $500,000 to the El Paso Strong fund to help victims of the El Paso shooting and their families.

The Paso del Norte Community Foundation established the El Paso Victims Relief Fund in the hours after the shooting to support victims and their families. The PDN Community Foundation is working with One Fund El Paso to distribute the philanthropic resources to victims and families.

The WellMed Charitable Foundation (WCF) is the philanthropic partner of WellMed Medical Management, Inc., a large health care company that specializes in care of older adults, serving more than 600,000 patients in more than a dozen communities in Florida, New Mexico and Texas, including El Paso.

Nearly three months after the shooting that took the lives of 22 shoppers and injured 26, the Cielo Vista Walmart reopened Thursday, November 14th.

As members of the press and law enforcement looked on, shoppers slowly made their way into the remodeled store.  Cheers could be heard from the Walmart staffers inside.

Some Walmart team members and shoppers alike comforted each other as the reopening got underway.

One shopper who spoke with our crew said she felt a bit uneasy walking into to the store, but the feeling quickly went away, once she was inside and the staff welcomed her in.

Father Fabian Marquez, who visited the site a few weeks back, was invited back by Walmart team members to start the day with a prayer.  Once the doors opened for the east-central store, it quickly filled with shoppers.

Many had feared that the store – the only large grocery store within walking distance for the nearby neighborhoods – would not be reopening.

The store reopening comes on the heels of the move of the memorial that overlooked the site for months, as city officials relocated the many of the items to a new, temporary memorial site a few blocks away at Ponder Park.

Walmart officials are also constructing a permanent memorial to the victims on the store’s property.

Our very own Ruben R. Ramirez and Johnny Yturales were there and we bring you their views of the reopening via this gallery and video.

Beginning Tuesday, the City of El Paso will be removing items from the makeshift community memorial near the Cielo Vista Walmart that honors the victims of the August 3 shooting.

“As our region continues to heal, we are working to honor the sentiment and wishes behind the items that were brought to the makeshift community memorial,” said Quality of Life Deputy City Manager Tracey Jerome. “Ponder Park became the place where our community gathered in the immediate hours following this horrific act, and we hope the park will continue to be a place where people can go to reflect and heal.”

City officials shared that the process involves two phases: selecting and moving a variety of items to a temporary memorial located at Ponder Park, 7500 W. H. Burges Drive, and removing and cataloging the remaining them for historical purposes.

Professionals from the El Paso Museum of Art, the El Paso Museum of History and the Public Art Program will install various select items on a structure that has been installed at Ponder Park, a few blocks from the Cielo Vista Walmart.

Museum archival experts and volunteers will be working with the Central Transportation and International Moving Warehouse to carefully disassemble the makeshift memorial.

Every item will be cataloged and archived in order to document this part of El Paso’s history.

Central Transportation and International Moving Warehouse are assisting with the process as a donation to serve the El Paso community. The donation is an example of the outpouring of donations and assistance, both large and small, from businesses and individuals throughout the region’s heartrending experience.

The City of El Paso developed the process for the move after consulting with experts from other communities that were impacted by similar acts of violence.

“The city received invaluable guidance from Pittsburgh, Orlando, Boston, Las Vegas and the 9/11 Memorial Museum in order to determine the next steps to move forward,” officials added.

Gallery by Ruben R. Ramirez – El Paso Herald Post

Following the concluding Celebration of Mass of the Hope Border Institute’s 2019 Teach-In: Jornada por la justicia, Most Rev. Mark J. Seitz, Bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, signed and released a pastoral letter on the theme of racism and the El Paso shooting which took place on August 3rd, 2019.

“The pastoral letter, entitled, Night Will Be No More, represents a major statement from the Catholic community on the intersecting issues of race, gun violence, racially motivated attacks on Latinos in the United States and the ongoing militarization of the border,” Diocese of El Paso officials shared.

“It will be the first major statement from the Catholic Church on the theme of racism from the perspective of the border and connects the El Paso shooting to historical racism at the border and the recent resurgence of racism against Latinos in the United States,” officials added.

The signing of the pastoral letter will took place in the presence of hundreds of Latino leaders who were in El Paso for the Jornada por la justicia, including the Latinx Catholic Leadership Coalition, an emerging coalition of faith leaders, theologians and labor leaders recently formed in response to recent events at the border.

To read his complete letter on the Hope Border Institute website, click on the link below.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials overseeing a program Gov. Greg Abbott tapped to help halt potential mass shootings say staffing shortages and privacy concerns stand in the way of taking more preventive action against such massacres.

But the department hasn’t specified the current number of analysts participating in what’s called the Suspicious Activity Reporting Network, how potential threats are identified or how the program will work differently with additional public resources.

“I’m confident we’re going to need more resources, particularly analytical resources…Every lead has to be followed up on, we cannot sit on it. It will certainly take resources to do that,” DPS Director Steven McCraw told lawmakers this month.

His comments came during the first meeting of the Texas House Mass Violence Prevention and Community Safety Select Committee, which followed Abbott’s issuance of eight executive orders meant to stop future mass shooters. The orders were largely focused on strengthening the Suspicious Activity Reporting Network after the state’s two most recent mass shootings.

Last month, a gunman targeting Hispanic people opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, killing 22 and injuring more than two dozen others. Weeks later in Odessa and Midland, another gunman killed seven and injured 22 others.

“The most significant threat right now is a self-radicalized lone actor using available weapons against soft targets [citizens vulnerable to such attacks] — that’s number one,” McCraw told lawmakers.

The Legislature in 2011 mandated that DPS form a policy council to, among other things, develop strategies for reducing terrorism and “criminal enterprises.” That policy council recommended the creation of the Suspicious Activity Reporting Network, according to DPS’ website.

The Texas Tribune first contacted DPS on Sept. 6 to learn how its Suspicious Activity Reporting Network may address mass shootings. DPS initially did not respond to calls or emails. When a reporter made an unscheduled in-person visit to the agency’s Austin headquarters, a spokesperson said no one could be made available for an interview and asked that any questions be emailed to the department.

DPS officials did not respond to emailed questions until 11 days later, after they learned The Tribune planned to publish a story highlighting their unresponsiveness.

DPS spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger sent a statement to the Tribune that said the agency is currently repurposing personnel from other areas in DPS to support the network. Cesinger also stated that in the past three years, about 2,500 reports have been added to the network and that “multiple instances” have resulted in “law enforcement action.” But it’s not clear what action was taken and how often a report typically leads to thwarted crime.

DPS by late Wednesday had not responded to follow-up questions nor made anyone available for an interview about the network. The Senate’s Mass Violence Prevention and Community Safety Select Committee is slated to have its first meeting Thursday.

In his directives, Abbott also ordered DPS to raise the public’s understanding of how suspicious activity reports will help law enforcement identify potential mass shooters. In response to some of The Tribune’s questions about the reports, DPS responded by providing press releases about iWatchTexas, an app and website launched in 2018 that is supposed to be the public-friendly method for reporting suspicious behavior to the suspicious activity network. What happens to those reports — or how law enforcement could use them to prevent mass shootings — remains unclear. Abbott’s office deferred questions to DPS.

Monitoring and standardized guidelines

According to a safety document kept on the Texas Judicial Branch website, the Texas Suspicious Activity Reporting Network’s purpose is to, “create a holistic view of terrorism or crime-related suspicious activity in Texas.” One of the governor’s orders commits “resources” from DPS and his office to increasing the staff at Texas’ fusion centers, which are apparently the backbone of the reporting network.

Each of the eight fusion centers overseen by DPS are located in Texas’ largest cities where analysts evaluate reports of suspicious activity. Fusion centers are state-run information sharing hubs, of which Texas has the second-most in the nation, used to coordinate varying levels of law enforcement against terrorism and organized crime.

Established with the same post-9/11 objective that created the Department of Homeland Security, fusion centers look for indications people are planning criminal or terroristic operations. That includes monitoring online activity and cross referencing with additional law enforcement records. Representatives from each of Texas’ fusion centers make up the policy council that recommended DPS create the Suspicious Activity Reporting Network.

The safety document and McCraw’s testimony this month both indicate that network analysts monitor social media for warning signs. But DPS has not said what additional surveillance is conducted and what information is kept on those deemed suspicious.

DPS uses guidance from the National Counterterrorism Center to determine the credibility and suspiciousness of a report. Abbott’s directives call for standardized guidelines for determining which reports law enforcement agencies should pass on to the network. But DPS has not responded to questions about how law enforcement agencies currently decide which reports to send to the network.

“They’re literally trying to take life and death situations to discern between false complaints, agenda-driven, personality-driven, outright lies, all kinds of issues,” said Charley Wilkison, executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. “And they’re trying to discern and use their professional experience and training the keep the public safe.”

Wilkison said the network can’t “telegraph everything they see” in real time without causing “immeasurable fear” to the public.

“At some level they’re gonna have to be secretive,” he said.

McCraw described suspicious activity in the hearing as, “Those activities, observable activities, that reasonably indicate that something is occurring that might forewarn either a terrorist event or criminal event.”

In further testimony to the House committee, McCraw mentioned ‘replacement theory’ while discussing the network’s priorities in regard to counterterrorism. Replacement theory or, “The Great Replacement” is a conspiracy theory forewarning the supposed erasure of white European ethnic groups through mass migration from people of color. The idea is well-embraced among white supremacist groups and was a cited motivation in the manifesto of the El Paso shooter.

“The propaganda has proliferated throughout the internet world…And of course, the mass shooter in El Paso took that theory and applied it to Hispanics, so it’s racially motivated domestic terrorism is what we have,” McCraw told lawmakers.

Longstanding concerns over privacy

While McCraw identified staffing as a challenge to the network’s new duties, he said freedom of speech and privacy concerns further limit DPS’ ability to prevent attacks like mass shootings. He also said law enforcement doesn’t have access to as much data as it once did.

“Because some social media companies have been selling the data, there’s companies that are now limiting in terms of what they’ll sell to law enforcement,” he said. “It’s a little more challenging than it was.”

Texas’ fusion centers have a 27-page-long privacy policy supposedly preventing them from collecting information on people solely based on details like religious and political affiliations or race, citizenship and place of origin. Individuals may also request information kept by the fusion centers about themselves to verify accuracy, but there are exceptions if it will compromise an investigation.

In 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union published, “What’s Wrong with Fusion Centers,” a report that highlighted a lack of clear oversight, participation from private companies and excessive secrecy as threats fusion centers pose to civil liberties.

“One of the things that we have not been doing…because of concerns about privacy is proactively looking for threats,” McCraw told the committee.

Author: CARRINGTON TATUM – The Texas Tribune

Disclosure: Walmart has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

In support of community relief and recovery following the tragic August events in El Paso, Macy’s has donated a total of $100,773 to the El Paso Victims Relief Fund, established by the Paso del Norte Community Foundation.

For immediate support, Macy’s donated $20,000 to the organization in August.

From August 6 through August 20, Macy’s stores throughout the state of Texas offered customers the opportunity to round-up their in-store purchase to the nearest dollar (up to $.99) to benefit the El Paso Victims Relief Fund, $80,773 was raised through the round-up campaign with 100 percent of the funds benefitting victims and their families affected by the tragedy.

Macy’s colleagues will present the total check donation on Monday, September 16 at Macy’s Cielo Vista.

As part of this, Macy’s would also like to recognize the significant contributions of El Paso’s local heroes – the first responders.

Any first responders who arrive at the event between 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. will receive a $25 Macy’s gift card as well as a special shopping experience with a Macy’s Personal Stylist and beauty experts.

Customers will also be able to enjoy light refreshments during the event.

Macy’s officials added that they will “continue to work with the El Paso community to identify meaningful ways to support our neighbors and friends impacted by this tragedy.”

Gov. Greg Abbott’s declaration that words are inadequate and must be met with action signals a turn from politics to policy. He’s better, historically speaking, at the former. What he’s proposing now will require some coalition-building in a divided political culture and with a Legislature riven by scandal.

Abbott had a good legislative session this year, along with his compadres, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. They racked up wins on school finance and property tax legislation, managed a session that didn’t devolve — like the 2017 session — into angry debate over outlawing “sanctuary cities” and regulating access to public bathrooms.

It was a good session, but not one that your grandchildren will read about in their Texas history textbooks. That’s really the nature of state government: It’s more notable in its failures than in its successes, a frustrating setup for politically ambitious people who aspire to fame, glory and maybe even higher office. The list of historically renowned Texas governors is a lot shorter than the history of the state.

But the governance problem of the day — mass shootings — is also deeply political. The governor is clearly feeling the heat. His recent “mistakes were made” apology for throwing matches at the dry straw that is the immigration debate was passive, but it was still an apology. More importantly, it was uncharacteristic for a governor who only rarely admits error.

He followed with a list of “executive actions” that attempt to raise law enforcement attention to and communications about reports of people who might pose threats. He’s promising legislative proposals next week.

The gunfight in Texas government is tired and predictable, and changing its direction would require breaking from party doctrine, particularly on the Republican side. The proof is fresh: In that same successful legislative session this year, the governor asked lawmakers to respond to mass shootings at a school in Santa Fe, near Houston, and at a church in Sutherland Springs, near San Antonio. Lawmakers addressed school safety and mental health, but all of the gun laws approved this year loosened restrictions on their sales, use and possession.

Abbott’s digging for a meaningful response now. Bonnen and Patrick formed a joint committee on “mass violence prevention and community safety.” Five dozen Texas lawmakers wrote a public letter to the governor and held news conferences around the state calling for a special legislative session on guns, with a to-do list of regulatory legislation they couldn’t pass during the regular session earlier this year.

That triggered a cranky response from the governor’s office: “Gov. Abbott made clear in Odessa that all strategies are on the table that will lead to laws that make Texans safer. But that doesn’t include a helter-skelter approach that hastily calls for perfunctory votes that divide legislators along party lines. Instead, the governor seeks consensus rather than division. The Democrats who are part of today’s partisan pitch can be part of the bipartisan legislative process announced yesterday that is geared toward achieving real solutions, or they can be part of politics as usual that will accomplish nothing. Legislating on tough issues is hard and takes time. If Democrats really want to change the law, they need to stop talking to cameras and start talking to colleagues in the Capitol to reach consensus.”

Abbott himself added a tweet to the conversation Wednesday, ending it with, “Legislators can be part of the process or part of the problem.”

Sounds like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, doesn’t it?

And it’s not as though Republican lawmakers would enter a legislative session in partisan lockstep. They’ve got political troubles of their own that have nothing at all to do with firearms.

Immediately after the regular legislative session, Bonnen and state Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock, at the time the chairman of the House Republican Caucus, held an hourlong meeting at the state Capitol with Michael Quinn Sullivan of Empower Texans, an activist and regular source of annoyance for the Republican establishment. Long story short: Bonnen and Burrows said a lot of things that would offend other House members, Sullivan recorded their meeting and has played it for some of those members, and the Texas Rangers are investigating and trying to sort it out.

Whatever the Rangers do, Bonnen — who has only had the speaker’s job since January — has House members looking in their rearview mirrors and trying to decide if they chose the right leader. Calling lawmakers back to town to work on something as contentious as arms and safety regulation is risky and often unproductive, especially on the threshold of an intense election season. Compounding that with an undercurrent of legislative in-fighting and insurrection seems downright treacherous.

Especially if your strength is politics, and not policy.

Author: ROSS RAMSEY – The Texas Tribune

Story and photos by Reneé De Santos – EPISD

Democrats in the Texas House are calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to convene a special legislative session to address gun violence — a move designed to place even more pressure on the state’s top GOP official to act in the wake of two deadly mass shootings just weeks apart.

A letter to Abbott was delivered Wednesday morning, hours before the House Democratic Caucus hosted five news conferences across the state to discuss “protecting Texans from gun violence.” The letter, which also included several gun-related legislative proposals, was signed by 61 of the 66 members in the caucus.

“Members of the House Democratic Caucus, for several sessions now, have proposed dozens of specific bills aimed at changing the status quo by making Texans safer through common-sense gun and public safety legislation,” the letter reads.

The caucus requested Abbott include issues such as “closing the background check loopholes” and “banning the sale of high-capacity magazines” in a special session agenda, along with “enacting extreme risk protective order laws and closing existing loopholes in current protective order laws,” “limiting the open carry of certain semi-automatic long guns” and “requiring stolen guns be reported to law enforcement.”

The Legislature does not convene again until 2021; Abbott has the sole authority to call both chambers back to the Capitol before then.

Democrats said Wednesday that waiting another year and a half to address gun violence in the state will endanger Texans.

“This is the kind of thing our constituents are telling us they want us to tackle, and they want us to tackle it now,” state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, said. “We should not sacrifice any more Texas lives simply to accommodate a legislative calendar.”

On top of that, the next session will be bogged down with fights over redistricting, further polarizing the state and reducing the chance for consensus on gun safety legislation, Howard said.

During the press conference, however, a spokesperson for Abbott said released a statement that the governor “made clear in Odessa that all strategies are on the table that will lead to laws that make Texans safer” — but added that did not “include a helter skelter approach that hastily calls for perfunctory votes that divide legislators along party lines.”

“Instead, the Governor seeks consensus rather than division,” Abbott’s spokesperson said in a statement. “The Democrats who are part of today’s partisan pitch can be part of the bi-partisan legislative process announced yesterday that is geared toward achieving real solutions, or they can be part of politics as usual that will accomplish nothing. Legislating on tough issues is hard and takes time. If Democrats really want to change the law, they need to stop talking to cameras and start talking to colleagues in the Capitol to reach consensus.”

Howard countered the statement from Abbott’s office, however, and said as governor and a major leader among Republicans Abbott could build the consensus necessary to get gun safety legislation through both chambers and to his desk.

Over Labor Day weekend, a gunman on a rampage through Odessa and Midland killed seven people and injured 22 others. The tragedy there happened four weeks after a deadly shooting in El Paso that left 22 dead and more than two dozen wounded. The representative who led Wednesday morning’s Democratic press conference, Celia Israel of Austin, said she had been to the El Paso Walmart where the shooting occurred just a week before, and that her family could have easily been caught up in it.

“Our constituents deserve to know the Texas Legislature hears them,” Israel said. “We have security all around us [at the Capitol]” but are “painfully aware” of the danger for many Texans around the state as their go about their daily lives.

As Democrats have repeatedly urged Abbott to call a special session on the matter, the governor — along with other GOP leaders — have formed various entities to help explore long-term responses. After the El Paso shooting, Abbott assembled the Domestic Terrorism Task Force and the Texas Safety Commission.

Abbott also tweeted Monday night that he was considering a proposal to expedite executions of mass shooters. Democrats at the Wednesday press conference declined to comment on the proposal.

And on Tuesday, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced they had formed interim select committees to study “mass violence prevention and community safety.” The committees, the two GOP leaders said, will be tasked with studying and eventually recommending legislative solutions.

Bonnen on Wednesday announced the 13 House members who will serve on the select committee and directed the newly-formed panel to begin studying an array of issues related to gun violence and prevention, such as evaluating “options for strengthening enforcement measures for current laws that prevent the transfer of firearms to felons and other persons prohibited by current law from possessing firearms” and considering “current protocols and extreme risk indicators used to identify potential threats.”

Authors: CASSANDRA POLLOCK AND CHASE KARACOSTAS – The Texas Tribune

Officials with Emergence Health Network (EHN), are again preparing for local residents who may have been retraumatized by news and coverage of the mass shooting in Midland/Odessa.

EHN, operators of the Community Recovery Center specifically developed to address the mental health care needs of residents in the borderland region following the event on August 3, 2019, stand ready to help once again.

“Our EHN mental health professionals are uniquely qualified to provide care to those affected by traumatic experiences, so as we mark the month anniversary of this heartbreaking incident and hear news of the most recent shooting in Midland/Odessa we know many challenging emotions can resurface or individuals can experience relived trauma,” said Kristi Daugherty, Emergence Health Network, CEO.

“We also know there could be delayed trauma, so as the Local Mental Health Authority EHN is prepared for the long haul.  We have the services and staff in place to help our community heal and the Community Recovery Center is an added resource.”

“Easy access to counseling is vital right now so services offered at the Community Recovery Center are free of charge and if an individual doesn’t want to make an appointment, he or she can just walk in.  We also encourage our community to continue to utilize the Crisis Hotline where they can speak to one of our mental health professionals 24/7,” said Rene Hurtado, EHN Chief of Staff.

Community Recovery Center

8730 Boeing Drive, El Paso, TX

Monday – Friday

9am – 6 pm

To schedule an appointment call: 915-242-0555

EHN Crisis Hotline and Support

915-779-1800

In an effort to help students, staff and community members heal, the University of Texas at El Paso is hosting  “Trauma, Resilience & Resistance,” an interdisciplinary response to the recent gun violence in El Paso.

Gina Nuñez-Mchiri, Ph.D., director of UTEP’s Women’s and Gender Studies program and associate professor of anthropology, said UTEP students requested this event to give them a chance to interact with others on campus to address some of the issues tied to the August 3, 2019, massacre where a lone gunman killed 22 and injured 24 at the Cielo Vista Walmart.

“Healing takes time,” said Nuñez-Mchiri, the event’s lead organizer who added that she hoped that this was the start of a series. “This event is one way that UTEP faculty, staff, students and community partners can share their expertise to help with the healing process. Once word of this activity got out, colleagues reached out. They wanted to help.”

The two day event is underway now, and will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, August 28 and 29, 2019, at UTEP’s Blumberg Auditorium.

UTEP faculty members from the colleges of Education, Liberal Arts and Health Sciences, and other presenters from the Border Network for Human Rights and The University of Texas at Austin will conduct many of the lectures, workshops and dialogues during the two-day event in the Blumberg on the first floor of the University Library.

This free event is for the UTEP community, but the public may attend.  To view the schedule of events, click here.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso mental health professionals, who help patients recover from emotional trauma, are sharing tips and urging community members to seek help in the wake of the August 3rd Walmart shooting.

“Whether directly or indirectly affected by the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart on August 3, some residents of our community may experience significant emotional issues,” TTP El Paso officials shared via an email.

Post-traumatic symptoms can affect victims and their loved ones, first responders, medical personnel, criminal investigators and others involved in traumatic incidents.

“People are going to know people who were in the store or know someone who was affected. There were a lot of folks who were witnesses, like first responders, even members of the media, and members of our TTUHSC El Paso and TTP El Paso community who treated the wounded,” said Melanie Longhurst, Ph.D., M.Ed., a TTUHSC El Paso assistant professor and clinical psychologist who works with veterans with PTSD in the El Paso Veterans Affairs health care system.

Resulting mental health disorders can include acute stress disorder (ASD), which occurs immediately after a traumatic incident, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a long-term condition.

Affected individuals may experience a myriad of emotional and physical symptoms, including:

• Depression, anxiety, anger and fear.
• Nightmares.
• Intrusive thoughts.
• Flashbacks.
• Negative thoughts about the future.
• Poor appetite or overeating.
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep.
• Social isolation.
• Avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event.

Moataz M. Ragheb, M.D., Ph.D., a TTUHSC El Paso associate professor and practicing psychiatrist with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, said most people will recover with gradual resolution of symptoms over the following days, weeks, and sometimes months.

Only a minority will go on to develop long-term psychiatric conditions such as PTSD, he said.

With recovery being the rule rather than the exception, Dr. Ragheb and Dr. Longhurst said there are tools that can help people cope with trauma, including social and psychological interventions and medications, if necessary.

“You do not have  to suffer in silence until recovery is achieved,” Dr. Longhurst said.

Dr. Ragheb and Dr. Longhurst said another important tool is practicing self-care. There are things a person can do—and others things to avoid—to achieve recovery:

• Refrain from using alcohol as a coping tool.
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle: Stick to a nutritious diet and get regular exercise—even a brisk walk is helpful.
• Minimize exposure to non-stop media coverage of the tragedy. Put down your phone or tablet—there is no need to constantly check social media for updates; it will just make you feel more stressed.
• Practice relaxation exercises, mindfulness, meditation and/or yoga.
• Do not suppress normal emotions.
• Be aware of your brain’s patterns of response to the trauma. Don’t let negative thoughts take you into darker places. Pause, ponder and examine your train of thought. Challenge painful—often illogical—assumptions and conclusions. You are more resilient than you probably think.
• There is no shame in reaching out for help.
• This is not a one-size-fits-all list of recommendations; self-care will be different for different people.

As a community, we can help each other by checking in on friends and family and be there to listen to their concerns and worries. This is a time for both grieving and healing, and it works better together, Dr. Longhurst said.

As individuals, we should make an effort to reach out to our social networks of friends and family and stay connected.

“As the dust settles and acute stress starts to wind down, individuals will notice whether or not they will be exhibiting ongoing stress,” Dr. Longhurst said. “Is it impacting their day-to-day functioning? Are they struggling at work, struggling to get things done at home? Those are indicators to seek ongoing help.”

Those who feel they need counseling, guidance or simply want to talk to someone, can contact the organizations listed below for free, confidential consultation services.

• Emergence Health Network’s 24-hour Crisis Line at 915-779-1800.
• MetLife Grief Counseling Service at 1-866-885-6540.
• Magellan Health Counseling Services at 1-800-327-7451.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday convened the first meeting of the newly formed Texas Safety Commission, ramping up the state’s efforts to devise policy solutions in the wake of the deadly shooting targeting immigrants and Hispanics earlier this month in El Paso.

For over four hours, the commission — which includes state leaders, lawmakers and law enforcement officials — met behind closed doors at the Capitol in what Abbott described as the “next step to make sure that we respond robustly and rapidly to the” El Paso attack.

Speaking with reporters at the end of the meeting, Abbott rattled off a long list of items that were discussed — stronger threat assessment efforts, better collaboration between social media companies and law enforcement, strengthening the state’s domestic terrorism law. He also broached more politically sensitive issues related to guns, saying there was discussion surrounding red flag laws — or at least an alternative to them — background checks and assault weapons.

“I think the conversation went in a lot of different directions,” state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, told reporters after the meeting. “Guns were discussed extensively — what we have under current law, what we can do under potential news laws. I think everything was on the table.”

“It was a very open and candid conversation and I’m certainly encouraged by the fact we’re trying to build consensus” around the issues, added Moody, the House speaker pro tem.

Twenty-two people were killed and more than two dozen wounded in the El Paso shooting, which took place Aug. 3 at a Walmart. Authorities believe the gunman, who was arrested and charged with capital murder, published an anti-immigrant manifesto shortly before the massacre, railing against a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

Thursday was the first of two meetings that are planned for the safety commission, with the second one scheduled for next Thursday in El Paso. The meetings are similar to a series of roundtables that Abbott held in the wake of the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, and he presented a stack of papers to reporters Thursday to illustrate how many proposals came out of those roundtables that he signed into law.

Like he did after the Santa Fe roundtables, Abbott plans to issue a report with recommendations following the post-El Paso meetings. The governor, who has resisted pleas by some House Democrats to call a special session after El Paso, said the commission will focus on “ideas and suggestions that can lead to laws” but emphasized the state can take more immediate action without legislation.

Author: PATRICK SVITEK – The Texas Tribune

El Paso shooting

More than 20 people were killed in an Aug. 3, 2019, shooting rampage at a Walmart in El Paso. The gunman was arrested and charged with capital murder for the shooting in El Paso, which is recoveringfrom what federal law enforcement has classified as an act of domestic terrorism.

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