#EvergreenStrong committee announces guidelines for assistance

​

The #EvergreenStrong Community Recovery Fund has announced that its guidelines for seeking assistance are posted on the EvergreenLegacyFdn.org website.

​

The fund was launched in the wake of the shootings at Evergreen High School, a partnership between the high school parent-teacher association and the Evergreen Legacy Foundation to provide help to anyone impacted by the incident on September 10.

​

Multiple funds surfaced within days, and concern about fraudulent fundraising activities was immediate.  “The Jeffco School District had arranged for Colorado Healing Fund to be the designated collector of funds, but parents and the Evergreen community wanted to be involved,” said Linda Kirkpatrick, Executive Director of the Evergreen Legacy Foundation.  “Representatives of the EHS PTSA approached ELF to partner with them to add credibility and transparency to the effort.”

​

A GoFundMe page to benefit the family of Matthew Silverstone, one of the two victims of the shootings, appeared almost immediately and raised more than half a million dollars in the first four weeks.  

 

The purpose of each fund differs slightly, Kirkpatrick points out.   “We have encouraged donors to choose any one of the three funds.  As doctors have pointed out, Matthew will face costly, lifelong medical challenges; and supporting him directly through the GoFundMe page gives the family the greatest latitude in making use of those contributions.”  Those monies, as stated on the GoFundMe page, will go into a Medical Trust.

​

The Colorado Healing Fund, started in 2018 to deter fraudulent fundraising after mass-tragedies, works to help meet the needs of victims, extending to those within earshot or eyeshot of the incident.  They typically distribute funds through the Victims’ Advocacy system of the Sheriff’s Department but in this case have asked the Evergreen Legacy Foundation to serve as its community partner to distribute the $40,000 collected on behalf of EHS.

​

The #EvergreenStrong Community Recovery Fund is much broader, Kirkpatrick explains.  “Upon the advice from a community foundation in Kinder, Georgia, which contacted us the day after the shootings, we shaped our mission based on what they had learned from having had a school shooting just a year earlier in their town.” 

​

Calling it a “community recovery fund” enables #EvergreenStrong to provide assistance to teachers, first responders, and anyone in the community impacted by the event.  “Mental health counseling has been identified as the #1 need,” said Kirkpatrick, “so the very first disbursement from our fund went to Resilience1220, a trusted local organization providing free counseling to those between the ages of 12 and 20.”

​

Working with Resilience1220, the #EvergreenStrong team was able to fund group sessions for parents and other community members as well.  Their donation also provided money for counselors to receive specific, trauma-related training.

​

“Getting word out about these free counseling sessions has not been easy,” said Kirkpatrick, “because the school district only publicizes vendors on their ‘preferred list’ as published county-wide.  Resilience1220, which serves just the Evergreen area, does not fall on that list, but we’re working to change that.”  Thus, the school district’s endorsed method of seeking counseling is coordinated by Victims Outreach, Inc.  VOI provides short-term, law-enforcement-based services to victims, children, and survivors of traumatic events.

​

The school district also encourages use of the Evergreen Virtual Resiliency Center, a program in collaboration with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the National Center for Mass Violence.  It is a resource center for learning about services that are available.  The DeAngelis Center Foundation, also endorsed by the school district, is offering trauma resource assistance to a wide array of those impacted.

​

The Rebels Project, formed by a group of Columbine survivors, offers support to those who have experienced similar trauma, according to Jeffco school communications.

​

“In addition to faith-based counseling options and independent psychologists charging private rates, Resilience1220 is a trusted, local option for counseling.  While it may not be on the list of resources provided by the National Center for Mass Violence, it’s a valuable FREE service that’s being provided locally, and we’re fortunate to have the group so willing to serve the community at this time.”  Approximately 25 licensed therapists offer individual and/or group therapy.  According to Lindsey Breslin, Executive Director of Resilience1220, the organization had seen 100 new clients in the first 30 days following the tragic event at EHS.

Kirkpatrick, who coordinates the #EvergreenStrong Community Recovery Fund committee, said, “We have been working closely with the Colorado Healing Fund, which has pulled us into discussions with the Sheriff’s Department and Victims’ Advocacy, Jeffco Schools, Colorado Gives Foundation, and other organizations to avoid duplication of efforts and to stretch the donations as far as possible.”

​

A portion of the $75,000 in donations collected to date has been offered to the families of the two victims, although the family of Victim #2, who remains anonymous, has thus far declined offers for help. 

​

The #EvergreenStrong committee has been advised by multiple sources not to distribute all its money too quickly, as needs will arise as time passes.

​

“How people need help is not always readily apparent,” explains Kirkpatrick, who points out that first responders, medical professionals, and teachers often suffer emotionally.  “Nurses who care for victims of school shootings are said to be the the most apt to complete suicide, for instance.”  One of the organization’s distributions will be to an organization called VitalHearts, which provides intensive counseling for the professionals — including volunteer responders and teachers — over a 3-day period. 

​

To make a donation, find guidelines and forms to request assistance, or to read periodic updates, go to https://www.evergreenlegacyfdn.org/evergreen-strong.