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I had the honor and privilege to participate in a panel with my good friend Pastor Eric Manning last week. The event was the first ever 2024 National Summit on Mass Violence Victims & Survivors. It was hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Law School, and sponsored by the National Mass Violence Center (NMVC), the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) and the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC). Quoting from the welcome letter in the participant packet: This inaugural Summit has an ambitious agenda that is designed to address key issues especially the terrible toll that mass violence has taken on our nation. Many Americans no longer feel safe to live their normal lives due to fear of mass violence. It has touched the lives of countless victims and survivors, their family members and friends, those who plan for and respond to mass violence incidents, and communities. Until the day we as a society are able to prevent mass violence incidents, we must recognize the equally important task of identifying and meeting the needs of mass violence victims and survivors. This will require several things, not the least of which includes better planning, training, and involvement of relevant agencies, organizations, and professionals in mass violence preparation, response, recovery and resilience efforts. Currently, the mass violence field is fragmented and stove piped, resulting in inadequate knowledge and information sharing of information amongst agencies.  Mass violence victims and survivors deserve coordination among those who serve them. They deserve no less than being placed at the center of all these efforts.

The panel that Pastor Manning and I sat on was titled “Foundations of Faith in Mass Violence Response and Resiliency”. We shared our experiences both as individuals and as faith leaders in the process of helping our communities heal through faith. I’m pleased to report that our session was well received.

The people in attendance are an incredible collection of humanity dedicated to meeting the needs of victims and survivors. They include victims’ families, survivors, law enforcement, psychologists, social workers, and directors of resiliency centers. Our own Maggie Feinstein had an important role to play as both local host and director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership.

One of the tragic takeaways for me was that we continue to be in a reactive state, as we are unable to prevent mass violence incidents, and are the only nation on the planet who has this problem. We do not read of regular mass violence incidents occurring anywhere else on the globe except in the United States. Until we are able to recognize the roots causes, and take the brave and necessary steps, the club that I do not want to belong to will continue to grow, and through various events I will have the dubious honor of welcoming the newest members. We should be able to better. We must do better.