AUSTIN, Texas — This Juneteenth holiday feels different for many who witnessed a shooting in Round Rock Saturday night that left two people dead and 14 others injured.
“Trauma like this, it doesn’t just go away,” Cedric Dunmore, a counselor with Renovating Dynasties Counseling Services, said.
Dunmore and his wife are counselors in Austin who are spending their Juneteenth providing therapy to those who need it.
“Our purpose is to be able to provide a space where people who have experienced traumas, such as gun violence can come together and know that they’re not alone,” Dunmore said.
Life Anew, a nonprofit organization, contracted several therapists like Dunmore and his wife to provide their services this Juneteenth holiday at the Harvest Trauma Recovery Center (HTRC).
Whenever there’s any sort of gun violence in the community, Life Anew reaches out to people who may have been affected. After Saturday’s shooting, the organization decided it wanted to do something bigger this holiday.
“It’s not normal to see people killed in front of you,” Sean Oliver, a program manager for Life Anew, said. “It’s not normal to be running from bullets. PTSD is a serious thing.”
Oliver hopes that creating a safe community space for survivors and witnesses to share about their trauma will start the community’s healing process.
“This is a tragedy, but to stop the next tragedy, we must grow in relationships, one with another,” Oliver said.
MORE COVERAGE OF THE ROUND ROCK JUNETEENTH SHOOTING:
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Oliver is also working to break the stigma around getting help for mental health and trauma.
“We hope to be able to increase the willingness of people of color to see getting help isn’t a sign of weakness, but it absolutely is a sign of strength,” Oliver said.
It’s the therapists' hope that healing on this holiday will start something that’s lasting in the community.
"The work that can be started today can be a great way of paying tribute to what Juneteenth is about. Because Juneteenth is about bringing together and strengthening our communities,” Dunmore said. “This is a tragic event, but joy can come out of this tragedy if we do the work that we're able to do."
Life Anew is offering a free weekly therapy group that focuses on gun violence every Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at the Harvest Trauma Recovery Center in Austin. HTRC also has several other therapists on staff daily for anyone who needs other mental health resources.
The nonprofit is also part of a group of several other nonprofits called ATX Peace, that works on gun violence prevention, community policing and activism. Some of those groups include Jail to Jobs, the APH Office of Violence Prevention and Hungry Hill Foundation.