Crisis Team, Prayer Vigils Help Students, Community to Cope


Leah Braunschweiler
12.20.07

Omahans may never be able to forget the tragic events that took place Dec. 5. At 1:42 p.m, police first received word of a shooting at the Von Maur department store in Westroads Mall. Since then, the community has been doing its best to cope with what is, rather than ignore what has changed this calm little state forever.

The shooting that made national news has generated a tremendous outpouring of grief among the community. A number of prayer vigils were held at churches in west Omaha the day following the shootings, including vigils at First United Methodist and St. Leo’s Catholic Church, in memory of those who fell victim to Nebraska’s largest single day of violence in history.

Papillion-La Vista South High houses a crisis team to offer support for the distraught, in any event, or particularly, in cases such as the recent shootings. Assistant principal crisis team leader Jim Larson said there was a surge of students, perhaps more than three dozen, who sought someone to talk to in response to the tragedy.

“Our job is not to prevent the crisis, we can’t do that, it’s already happened,” Larson said. “In a situation like this, what we’re looking to do is to respond to those people who are affected so they are able to cope most effectively.”

There are two levels of this crisis team, one at the school level and one at the district level. The school crisis team consists of Larson and the entire guidance department, while the district level is comprised of central office officials, a student services director, communications director, social work counselors and administrative representatives.

“We do meet a couple of times each year for training, and do provide some ongoing training for our team members,” Larson said. “So we’re as prepared as we can be.”

Recent action has been taken as a result of the Westroads shooting.

“One of the things that was unique about this crisis was there were a number of organizations that offered counseling and assistance,” Larson said. “So we had to organize those and make sure they were distributed to those that needed them.” 

The residents of Nebraska, no matter how much it may hurt have looked to each other for strength and comfort, are keeping an optimistic eye on rebuilding their lives, rather than dwelling on what cannot be altered.

Blythe Butcher also contributed to this report.

Image by Braden Boex

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