To our Spartan community,
Today, our hearts are heavy with grief and sorrow as we mourn the senseless loss of life in Monday night’s act of violence on the Michigan State campus. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were killed or injured, and to the entire campus community.
At WKAR we are committed to sharing resources and tools to help young people cope with community violence and mitigate the impacts of trauma.
A best practice in helping children through this experience is to listen and allow them to lead the conversation based on the questions they need answered. Allow them to process their emotions as often as necessary with the adults in their lives as loving and empathetic guides.
Together is the word and solution we need now.
For the countless families in our community who are wondering how to begin a conversation with their children about an unthinkable tragedy like this, our friends at PBS have resources in place such as the page When Something Scary Happens, which is meant to assist families coping with emergencies or other challenging times. In addition, they also have a page detailing best practices for when parents are called upon to discuss tragic events in the news with their children.
It is extremely unfortunate whenever we find it necessary to rely on these resources, but their contents make them valuable tools for providing clarity and support to children in need.
Our community will need time to mourn and heal. There are students who have lost friends, and parents who have lost children. As we all work on navigating this tragedy, it is important to be there for one another in any way we can be.
Spartans always stick together, through thick and thin, to overcome any obstacle that stands in our way. Now, we will need to stand together more than ever.
Take care,
Shawn Turner
General Manager
WKAR Public Media
