In memoriam for the one year anniversary of the shooting at Saugus, the William S. Hart School District dedicated the week of Monday November 9 to Friday November 13 to the wellness of students and uniting the community. Everyday throughout the week, activities were posted on the Hart District’s wellness website for students, their families and all other members of the community to complete. The goal of those activities was to improve the overall well-being of students and to bring members of the community closer together.

One of the events that occurred during that week was the virtual forum hosted by Hart High School’s own Students Demand Action club, Valencia High School’s Students Demand Action club and the Sailboat Project. The event took place Friday, November 13 at 3:30 p.m. The purpose of the forum was to give students an opportunity to discuss how the shooting at Saugus affected them and how they have been dealing with those effects throughout the past year. As part of the event, students were also given an opportunity to showcase any artwork that they may have done that was focused on how the Saugus shooting affected them. 

Another topic covered in the forum was what resources are available to receive emotional support for gun violence trauma. Those resources include the Moments That Survive website and the Everytown Survivor website. Other resources always available are the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255) and The Trevor Lifeline (1-866-488-7386). The CA Peer-Run Warm-Line for non-emergency mental and emotional support (855-845-7415) is another resource that is always available. Anyone struggling with the need for mental or emotional support can always find help at those resources.