News & Events

Boulder, Colorado/mass shooting; 3-22-2021

Description:

HOPE AACR was requested to assist in the Boulder, Colorado mass shooting that occurred on March 22, 2021. The RMR requested additional HOPE teams. Four teams responded from the MWR. We had an opportunity to work with other HOPE teams from other regions in the U.S. The Resource Center was established on the second floor of Chase Bank that is close to the incident area. The agencies stationed there included the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, The District Attorney’s Office from Boulder County, Human Resources from King Soopers grocery store including personnel from corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Colorado Victim Assistance, mental health counselors, a massage therapist, acupuncturist, security and various HOPE AACR teams. The Resource Center was open from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm everyday with the exception of Mondays. It was set up as a warm environment with carpet and soft seating and was quiet and a safe place. Lunch and dinner were provided at the Resource Center by local restaurants. Our HOPE teams from the Mid-west were scheduled by Lee Fernholz, manager of the RMR and Karen Klein, manager of the CGC. All agencies at the Resource Center were well coordinated and worked together for the benefit of the victims, employees, friends of employees, shoppers at the store at the time of the shooting and family members. HOPE teams had the opportunity to provide comfort to everyone at the Resource Center and to also walk along the “Memorial Wall” located on a temporary fence in front of King Soopers. The size and scope of this deployment was immense. All of our HOPE teams did an outstanding job and received continuous gratitude from everyone visiting the Resource Center including all of the various agency’s staff staged at the Resource Center.

Katy P. & Wall_E, Susan H. & Talon, Sheryl C. & Maxx, Lisa M. & Roma, Janet J. & Rowdy,