Local organizations offer help with recovery after shooting at Trump rally
Spectators watched in awe as a gunman opened fire on a crowd of campaign rally attendees July 13 at the Butler Farm Show grounds. Some ducked and ran for cover as many others shouted out in fear.
The shooting took the life of former Buffalo Township fire chief Corey Comperatore and injured three others, including former President Donald Trump — leaving thousands of attendees and the Butler community in shock.
In the wake of such a tragic incident, an array of difficult emotions can swell. Several local organizations are available to provide resources to process those feelings.
Among those organizations is Christian Counseling Associates, which partnered with the Foundation for Christian Counseling to hold “United We Stand,” a crisis response event following the July 13 shooting to help those affected by the incident.
The free, public event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 20, at North Main Street Church of God in Butler, will focus on putting traumatic incidents into perspective and providing insight into what trauma responses can look like, according to Christian Counseling Associates clinical supervisor Tom Weil.
“I think right now, (the Butler community is) still in shock, still trying to make sense of it all,” Weil said. “(We) just really (want) to empower people and provide hope that even though this terribly traumatic event has happened, healing and finding peace is available.”
Center for Community Resources is also working to assist those affected by the shooting with a Group Crisis Intervention event at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 25, at the Monarch Training Institute at Monarch Place.
The Center for Community Resources will host the Keystone Crisis Intervention Team for the free, public event — an organization that supports crime victims and communities throughout Pennsylvania in their recovery from traumatic incidents.
The purpose of the event is to provide helpful resources and a safe environment to decompress and share feelings, according to Center for Community Resources senior director of programs Katie Doerr.
“It is just to embrace the community and help them debrief through a tragic incident,” Doerr said. “We want them to know there are resources available and give them the ability to process those emotions and feelings in a safe environment.”
Both Doerr and Weil said coming together as a community is one of the best ways to move forward.
“I think (the Butler community) is still in shock, especially with the loss of Corey,” Weil said. “That’s really being felt hard by the community. He was just a caring, well-known, altruistic individual whose impact was very broadly felt through the community as well as (by those) who witnessed the very traumatic events. …
“We hope to help facilitate a culture of community with (this event) … Common bonding between person to person in larger groups can be really helpful.”
Weil mentioned people react differently to traumatic incidents, but there are some common responses people may experience, like heightened anxiety and alertness, intrusive thoughts and memories and reclusion from social events, among other things.
Doerr said with the variety of different reactions, it’s important that people have the tools to effectively process their feelings and get access to resources that can help.
“(The shooting) was such an unexpected event that really caused a grave amount of emotions, all kinds of different emotions,” Doerr said. “That’s why we want to make sure we have resources available for the community, such as our crisis services, so they can process those feelings (and) get through the next phase. …
“We all have different (reactions) about this event. We all feel things differently, so we’re all in this together — whether you’re upset, sad, angry, depressed — all of those things, we’re here to help support and get you through.”
The Indiana Gazette is assisting the Butler Eagle with reporting resources.
