Mental health professionals say the trauma of Saturday's shootings at the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue will have a lasting effect on many who were both directly involved or had some other connection to the event.
On Sunday, Spectrum Health oversaw a team of counselors that offered assistance throughout the day at the Johnnie B. Wiley Pavilion at Jefferson Avenue and Best Street. They will be there again Monday from 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Near the end of the session, Bob Cannata, Senior Vice President of Crisis Response Services for Spectrum Health, provided an update.
Local psychologist Ursuline Bankhead, who has her ties to the location and the surrounding neighborhood, also shared some general thoughts about what type of community reactions we may experience moving forward.
Next we spoke with Allison DeHommey, the CEO and Executive Director of Buffalo Go Green. She has hands-on feel for the neighborhood around the Jefferson Avenue Tops Market. Her urban farm on Glenwood Avenue is about a three-minute walk to the store.
It was no surprise that Eva Doyle would offer extensive perspective. A Buffalo historian, educator and journalist, Doyle said her day to shop at the Jefferson Avenue Tops is Saturday, but she luckily changed her plans.
We close with Jillian Hanesworth. In addition to her role as Director of Leadership Development at Open Buffalo, Hanesworth is a social justice spoken word artist and the 2020 inaugural Poet Laureate of Juneteenth on Jefferson Avenue. She uses her poetry to advance social justice, educate and inspire.
