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Champaign County Community Grieves Collectively
By Oscar Smith/ Publisher HIP Champaign/ May 26, 2021
Police Officer Chris Oberheim was funeralized on today. He served with the Champaign Police Department for 13 years and had previously served with the Decatur Police Department for seven years. He is survived by his wife and four children. Champaign County residents are sharing collective grief at this loss.
As a CISM Chaplain I have been trained for times and seasons like this as local communities are rarely equipped to cope with such a tragic loss of a dedicated Police Officer.
Where do you go, and what do you do when there is collective local community grief?
Collective grief occurs when a community, society, town, city, nation, or the whole world collectively experience extreme change or loss.
Grief is a normal response to anger, loss, and violence. When the trauma affects an entire community, it is known as communal or collective grief.
