Deaconess Community,

Our children are grieving. Our families are grieving. Our community is grieving. We are grieving with the parents, families, students, educators, neighbors, friends, and colleagues of the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, and Saint Louis Public Schools community. Our hearts are broken as we mourn the persons tragically killed and others recovering from injuries as a result of the school shooting on Monday.

The pain, grief, devastation, and frustration of this moment permeate every facet of life. In times of great suffering and heartache, our community rallies to care for one another while also organizing to dismantle the structures and systems that threaten the health and well-being of our children and communities. Our experiences have also taught us that it is imperative that we pause to feel the weight of the moment and make space for healing.

We are grateful for our partners in public and behavioral health who have aptly responded in the wake of this crisis to coordinate the community-wide response. Deaconess is committed to aligning efforts to support the mental, emotional, and spiritual health and healing of our community.

We encourage you to connect, as needed, with the resources and supports offered, and we will continue to share resources and supports as they become available.

• Saturday, October 29th: Join the Black Healers Collective and The T for Part I of the “Gathering for Our Healing” series from 1:00 pm-3:30 pm in Tower Grove Park, West End-near Arsenal & Kingshighway.
• Need to talk to a clinician free of charge? Contact the Behavioral Health Response Crisis Line & Youth Connection Helpline: Dial 988, (314) 469-6644, or for youth (314) 819-8802. Calls may be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 356 days a year. You may also chat online at bhrstl.com or text BHEARD to 31658.
• City of St. Louis Crisis Support : Amanda Luckett Murphy (ALM) Hopewell Center 866-376-0962; Walk In Centers – Children’s Services: 5647 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63112 Open Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Adult Services: 909 N 14th Street, St. Louis, MO 63106 Open Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Trauma Services: 4236 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108 Open Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
• Mental Health Support: Resources for Self-Care
• The BRIC provides holistic care for anyone dealing with the impact of a bullet to support your mental, physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing. Call or Text the BRIC (314) 624-0398.

Where there is healing, there is hope.

In service to our mission,
The Deaconess Foundation Team

To read the rest of our October newsletter, click here.