Officials with the Boulder Strong Resource Center assured Colorado Gov. Jared Polis Tuesday that the organization, formed after the March 22 King Soopers mass shooting, will be around for the long haul.
“We want to be a community resource for years to come,” said Dixie Casford, co-CEO of Mental Health Partners, which manages the resource center. “It’s really a healing place for the community.”
Polis toured the new permanent location of the resource center at 2935 Baseline Road. The resource center started in the King Soopers parking lot shortly after the shooting, which killed 10.
Casford said the location on Baseline Road provides easier access to anyone who wants help dealing with trauma surrounding the shooting. She added many people don’t seek help until much later after a violent event.
“Some people sought help after the Columbine shooting nine years after it happened,” Casford said. “Some didn’t seek help after the Aurora shooting for four or five years. This is not something that happens over night.”
“That’s why we want to be a permanent fixture in Boulder,” she said.
Many of the therapies offered at the resource center are free. They include acupuncture, massage and counseling. Polis also met Maggie, a rottweiler, and Buck, a black Labrador, both therapy dogs available to anyone looking for a silent friend.
“This is a really important service you are offering here,” said Polis, who on Tuesday visited several small businesses and organizations as part of a “Colorado Comeback” tour.
Casford said most of the people who visit the facility were survivors of the shooting as well as shooting survivors and victims.
The center facilitates a drop-in open art studio and the creation of a large, fabric mosaic Tree of Life art memorial to commemorate the 10 lives lost in the shooting, said Ed Vasquez, spokesman for the center said in an email.
Polis also saw 10 wreaths of paper cranes, donated to the Boulder Strong Center by The Rebels Project, formed by survivors of the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 and the Aurora theater shooting in 2012.
U.S. Representative Joe Neguse announced earlier this month, he was able to secure $250,000 for the center, which depends largely on donations for its first year of operation, according to its website.
“This federal funding would expand their capacity to serve the community, decreasing the lifelong potential for serious trauma-related health problems for those suffering with mental health conditions,” Neguse said in a news release.
Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachmin, who toured the facility along with Polis, said she was impressed with the center’s work. “They will do good work for the community for a long time,” Loachmin said.
