'Ask, Don’t Tell' -- Pulse Victims And Supporting The Loved Ones Left Behind

Last year, 49 people lost their lives in the Orlando massacre at the LGBTQ nightclub Pulse in the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history. Dozens more were injured. Bars and clubs have long been a place for LGBTQ community members to gather and simply be ourselves, as few other safe spaces exist. As an openly gay Latino myself, I know that this tragedy has been deeply felt by both the LGBTQ and Latinx (a gender-neutral alternative to Latino/a) communities throughout the nation and the world. Perhaps the most affected by this tragedy are the families (both biological and of-choice) and loved ones who were left behind. I recently sat down with Vilma Torres, a Safe Horizon expert who works with families and friends of murder victims to better understand what loved ones may experience after a tragedy of this magnitude and how as a society we can best offer support. Brian: It’s one year later. What may be some of the common experiences and feelings of the loved ones who lost someone in the Orlando attack? Vilma: The first year is such a challenging time. Often, families are having a very difficult time coping with the grief and the heartache. People deal with their grief, heartache, and pain very differently. What happened in Orlando was very violent, so you may have family who are still dealing with how violently their loved one actually died. They may not be ready to come to terms with that horrifying fact. For some, they may just now be dealing with the separation. The...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news