JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville organization is helping the community learn to heal after a tragedy following Saturday’s racially-motivated shooting that killed three Black people.
At the Jax Community Healing Circle, organizers such as Nubian Roberts, who is a manager with Florida Rising, stressed the importance of talking about what you’re feeling and not suppressing it, especially those feelings concerning the three lives lost.
Photos of the AJ Laguerre, Angela Carr and Jerrald Gallion were placed in memory of the victims.
“I think that forgiveness and healing is very important,” Aieshah Saleem said.
Aieshah Saleem attended the community healing circle.
“When you don’t speak up about your trauma and reach out and ask for help it becomes a problem,” Saleem said.
She said she was not far from Saturday’s shooting and came out Thursday night to find new and better ways to deal with her trauma from the recent shooting and her past.
“In the past, I would have mental breakdowns and non-stop crying,” Saleem said. “I’m tired of self-internalizing, I’m tired of the self-guilt, beating myself up. I’m tired. So I had to get to a point where I’m tired and reach out for help.”
To help the community deal with the recent trauma different activities were held to help them.
A counselor was also present and talked about the importance of making sure if you experience something, whether it’s small or large, it’s okay to talk about it and let it out.
“Subliminal Dreams is on a mission to break those stigmas and break those roots of why we don’t want to talk about it. And to help us come up with ingenious ways to help each other and to help ourselves heal and to really get over the violence and crimes,” Shontae Jackson said.
Organizers said this isn’t the only community healing they are planning. This weekend they plan to take pamphlets on how to deal with trauma and pass them out in different neighborhoods.