I’m standing here in Detroit watching another devastating situation unfold overnight, and what stays with me is not just the incident itself. It is the families. It is the moms, the dads, the siblings, the friends, who are left carrying this for the rest of their lives. I heard the mayor speak with compassion, and I wholeheartedly appreciated that, because too often people get caught up in what happened and forget who has to live with the pain after the cameras leave.

The truth is, an incident may last for a moment, but the impact does not. The devastation keeps going for Mom’s, Dad’s, long after the news cycle moves on. It affects entire communities too, because residents are the ones gathering, trying to make sense of another blow, and trying to keep moving forward while watching Parents carrying heartbreak that does not disappear. We cannot keep responding only to the immediate crisis and then leaving parents to figure out with limited resources, or with them being left alone to figure it out! 

That is why I am calling on the City of Detroit, including the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Community Safety, to expand and guarantee robust wraparound full circle services for parents  affected by shootings in their communities . That means long-term grief support, one on one trauma counseling, trauma support by trauma coaches who have also “Lived Experience “ of unfortunately losing a child themselves, so their not just approaching this devastating situation from a textbook perspective, also help navigating a multitude of resources that continues far beyond the incident itself. If city leaders truly understand that the pain lasts forever for Mom’s, Dad’s and families, then our response has to reflect that reality!

I’m asking you to sign this petition if you believe compassion has to look like action. Sign if you believe Detroit Parents/Families deserve real support not just in the first hours, or but in the hard days, months and years  that follow. Sign if you want our city to stand with grieving Parents in a way that is visible, consistent,and lasting!