Champaign County Needs Community Healing

Oscar Smith, Publisher/ HIP Champaign/May 26, 2021

There are so many  ways that disasters can strike. The emotional impact of an event like a local police shooting affects so many people and disrupts the soul of the local community. Heroic as our law enforcement, first responders and firefighers typically are, believe it or not there are losses that must be attended to over time in order for communities to return to functioning well.

When a community experiences such an event like Champaign has recently suffered, the ripples of pain and devastation are far-reaching. The victims are obviously the impacted families that have lost a loved one. But there are so many others whom we tend not to realize who are also deeply affected—the first responders, teachers, clergy, municipal staff, babysitters, grandparents, coaches, neighbors, bus drivers, funeral directors, friends, camp counselors, gravediggers, and more. How can HIP Champaign address all of the groups individually and collectively in the healing process. For over forty years I've been in pastoral and chaplaincy work. So today I ask myself as a Publisher, What is the first thing our Champaign County Communities Need To Bring Healing?

The initial step is to assess the needs and encourage our communities to participate in communicating its needs. This is a wonderful Forum to share your hearts. Local Area Pastors and Spiritual Leaders my Direct Contact: Oscar Smith, RespectCoffee@gmail.com

HIP Champaign

Resilience is the key.

Resilience is the ability to move from recovery to being able to derive some meaning from the tragic experience of a local Police Shootings. Resilience is when you can embody a sense of self-care and wellness and are able to pass on your knowledge of recovery, kindness, insight, and awareness to others. What This HIP Champaign Forum Offers is a type of post- traumatic community-wide growth.