The Source: How did Sunday’s event come about?

Casey Munck: This came about because one of our board members (Lia Powers) lives in the neighborhood, and her kids went to Silver Rail until this year. She was speaking to a lot of parents in the community about how they were feeling and how they were trying to process all this while trying to be stoic and take care of their kids. It’s really a place for those specific parents to come and process their own emotions and feelings that are coming up. In a traumatic event like this, the one that is in a caretaker role will often suppress their own feelings to be strong and take care of the kids, and it’s really important for those folks to have a place where they can feel safe and unleash feelings, and to feel like they can talk about it in a safe place, a confidential place, where there are people who understand.”

TS: What will you be offering on Sunday at Kiln?

CM: We’ll have an intro discussion called Trauma Needs A Witness. That’s going to be led by some of our complex PTSD specialists. After that, folks will break up into five small groups, each led by a trained facilitator. There will be a series of prompts that the facilitator will lead a group in. Everyone will take a prompt from a bowl and talk about that if it’s in their heart. After that, we’ll have a group discussion for about an hour. It’s going to be led by facilitators who know how to help people process things in a group setting. Whenever you have a situation like this, there’s something very therapeutic about a circle of people who are doing this together. That can be very healing. After that, the group will be led through a guided meditation that has been created specifically for this audience, to help them process everything that has happened, and to complete the experience and give them something to hold onto after they leave.

TS: Some people might not feel comfortable with discussing their feelings. How can this event help them?

CM: We’re going to have one of the small groups be for men only. That’s something that I’ve heard from parents, that a lot of men are having their own unique experience, and it can be really hard for them to open up and release their feelings. As a man, that can be especially hard, so that group is going to be staffed with folks who work with a lot of male veterans that will hopefully help them feel comfortable.

I think for people that aren’t used to talking about things, just show up. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to. But I think that trauma needs a witness. It’s one of those things that you’ll want to start working on, because whether you like it or not, this is going to get stored in your body and your psyche. It’s just like if you have a wound. You need to take care of it. This is the same thing. I would say that if you’re in doubt, just show up. I think it will be a healing experience. A lot of times, just hearing others, bearing witness themselves, can be a good start on that healing journey.