As I tried to pull words together last week to write this month’s blog post for Seattle Direct Counseling, words failed me. Exhausted after days of trying to help people process the horrors of the Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando FL, the recent shootings of black men by police, and the shooting of police officers (and I just got wind of yet another shooting just hours ago), I needed time to put words to what, if anything, I have to offer.
I have no words of consolation, for this is not a time to be consoled.
I do have words of sympathy for all the lives lost, and to the loved ones who grieve their absences.
I have no formulaic plans for action, ways to avoid becoming a statistic, nor recommendations, since just about everything I can think of has been tried — and has failed. Our nation has the highest amount of gun violence in the world, and yet every call for change has been met with defeat.
In the aftermath of each of these incidents, the one thing that does help is that we stick together. Whites helping blacks, blacks helping whites, everyone in their right mind helping each other, and absolutely everyone doing their best to protect the young, the innocent, and the defenseless.
And for our part here at Seattle Direct Counseling, we offer who we are. We are here to help you. We know there are people hurting. Many of them have already begun to pour into the office to talk about what’s on their minds and hearts regarding racism, violence, social justice, activism, and community response.
We are better together than alone.
It is my commitment to my community that if there is a need to open more office hours in the coming weeks, I will do my best to offer them. While it is not the place of counselors to be “advice givers”, we offer a safe space to process what is happening in our nation and to help you strategize an appropriate, meaningful response.
SDC is about embracing diversity, celebrating difference, welcoming culture and culture change, and personal transformation. We do not discriminate against any people group, color, age, size, gender, orientation, socio-economic background, or spiritual beliefs.
